Well, I suppose that you have all now heard by now that Guiding Light the CBS soap opera that’s been in existence for 72 years — since 1937 on the radio and 1952 on the television — will air its final episode post-Summer. The Associated Press cites declining daytime ratings and budget as the reason for the show’s demise. If you think you feel bad about what is happening think about the poor ladies and probably gentlemen too who have been following this show for the past 72 years.
I guess our lives will never be the same. First it was losing all that money in the stock market and so many people’s retirement plans going up in smoke. Then people’s jobs started falling off like dead flies and now this. It is interesting how different things have a different importance to different people. That difference can be summed up as it depends on whose ox is getting gored.
What will it be next? Perhaps Sixty Minutes will be canceled and replaced by a weekly fireside chat from our President. He seems to be saying something to somebody on TV every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Life just isn’t the same these days, but then it never was, was it?
I think I have the real reason for the canceling of the soap Guiding Light. People used to watch soap operas because the problems the characters faced on the soaps were always much more severe than their own little problems. It used to bring people some joy to see that some other poor soul had it worse then they had it. In comparison our own lives seemed better. Well now, with all of the bad stuff that is floating around that is not so often the case. We now have it worse than those soap characters and so who needs them? So turn down the guiding light, we’ll somehow make it on our own.