Big Purple Dreams

I went to get my allergy shots yesterday. That’s one of the little extra things I do for myself every other week. I don’t really need them…unless I want to breathe.

I took my usual route to get there but as I got closer I saw a traffic pile-up that came to a standstill just before my exit. I had one last chance to get off the freeway and take a detour so I made a split second decision and opted for Plan B.

Plan B quickly became Plans C, D, and E as I attempted to wind way back toward the allergy clinic . I’d finally locked onto Plan F and seemed to be making progress when it occurred to me that the road I had taken did not curve the way I intended to go. My mind was jumping ahead to Plans G through L when I realized…I was suddenly back at Plan A.

The road I had chosen was one I hadn’t taken in a while. I had forgotten that it would put me back on the freeway again. But while I had been wandering around, looking for alternatives, the traffic had cleared and I found myself only a few yards away from the destination I’d been aiming for in the first place.


That’s just the way life is sometimes.


When I was growing up I was always drawing something. Doodles filled the margins of my notebook paper and friends asked me to draw special things for them to put on their bulletin boards. I loved whatever we were making in art class whether it was clay pots or silver jewelry.

Then I went to college and had to choose a major. I was good, but I wasn’t THAT good I didn’t think I could compete with all those other art majors. Maybe being an artist was just a dream. I changed my major at least five times before I finally graduated with a BA in History. I haven’t done anything with that degree except put it on applications for jobs that had nothing to do with History. But each job led me to another more interesting one and each job taught me something new and brought new people into my life. As my husband completed his seminary degree and we moved on to a life in the ministry my focus was on people, making connections with others and helping in any way I could.

Now, after almost 30 years of marriage, two kids and several careers later …I’m an artist again, making things for my Etsy shop and doodling up some fun design for my friends I’ve met online and making them available in my Zazzle shop.

This one is for all my 6,000+ friends on the Big Purple Dreams message board for fans of Otalia (Olivia and Natalia) from Guiding Light. Thank you for your inspiration, your friendship, and for an unforgettable year.

    (Click on the mug to see more)

Make a personalized gift at Zazzle.

The Afterglow Lives On ...And On

This weekend Guiding Light fans will gather in Atlanta for a second "So Long Springfield" event and in a few weeks, they'll converge on Las Vegas for another one. Thinking of my friends who are planning on attending these events reminded me that I forgot to report on the events of October 9-11, 2009 in New York City, so here goes....


Although I was not able to attend the Guiding Light Fan Club Luncheon I felt like a part of me was there. Quite a few online friends of mine were there and also attended Crystal Chappell's Fan Club luncheon the next day and they made sure I was well represented.



I did a big custom button order for the Big Purple Dreams message board for Otalia fans, turning out 200 commemorative buttons to be given out to members attending these events, plus another 200 of my "Afterglow" buttons.





These buttons were to be given out at two events on Friday and Saturday nights, October 9th & 10th but so many Big Purple Dreamers showed up that they ran out of the buttons on the first night! (That's Liron Cohen, aka @Sunshineliron on the far left in this picture, someone who may be familiar to some readers of this blog.)







My friends also offered to deliver something special to the Guiding Light actors at the Fan Club event so I made my 1 inch "Afterglow" buttons and sent enough so every actor would get one. I was told each actor present received theirs and greatly appreciated them, too. Here is Jennifer Roszell (Eleni) with her button.








Then for a few of the GL actresses I had been interacting with on Twitter I made an "Afterglow" pocket mirror to go along with their buttons and also included a "Team Otalia" button, to thank them for their support of that storyline.








In this picture of a fan (Hi, Tori!) with Beth Chamberlin (Beth) and Tina Sloan (Lillian) you can see Beth's pocket mirror on the table in front of her. Later on Twitter, Beth & Tina both thanked me. Beth said "love, love, love the afterglow compact. Thank you!" and "I got one of your great compacts & recognized your name. You should sell via the glfc." Twitter has been a wonderful way to maintain contact with Guiding Light actors we miss seeing on TV and to find out what they're doing now. I've included links to Beth & Tina's latest projects here.

Guiding Light: What Happens Next?

Over the past several months I’ve been involved with a remarkable bunch of soap opera fans over on the Big Purple Dreams message board. When I joined this forum in January I became member number 78. This community now includes over 6,000 members who have become famous worldwide for their support of Guiding Light and the love story of Olivia & Natalia, played by Crystal Chappell & Jessica Leccia.

Yesterday, I watched an interview on CNNi with Crystal. The interviewer took note of Crystal’s enthusiastic fanbase, pointing out that her fans actually crashed the website as so many of them came to leave questions in hopes they might be included in this feature. These fans have campaigned tirelessly to try to save the show from cancellation, then to try to find a new home for the show on another network or perhaps on the internet. And finally, they campaigned to try to see their favorite stories find the happy ending they so hoped to see.

Tomorrow we’ll see the last episode of Guiding Light. My heart goes out to those who have been watching this show for most of their lives, to the actors, writers and crew members who have given us their best work (many for decades) to bring us this wonderfully refreshing show. I have thoroughly enjoyed the innovative and controversial production model that brought the viewers right into the middle of the scene and made us feel almost a part of the story. I will miss that because it is unlike anything being done by other soaps I watch. I have only been watching this show since February, but I soon felt like I was part of the Guiding Light family, too. I will miss it for all it was and might have been.

We will soon say goodbye to characters who have become like old friends to us and we will know if our favorites got that happy ending or not. My thoughts are with my 6,000+ Big Purple Dreamers, knowing that many didn’t see all they wanted to see in their favorite story. Some are bitter and angry about that, some poised to campaign for changes in the way same sex relationships are depicted on TV. But all are looking forward to the new webseries, “Venice” being produced by Crystal Chappell, written by Kim Turrisi, and directed by Hope Royaltey that has caught the attention of the media recently and created a lot of buzz around the internet. (I think Irna Phillips, creator of The Guiding Light, would be proud of Crystal for making this transition from television to the web.)

I know many fans feel overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, both happy and sad, as this great show goes off the air. Some have said they shared this show with their mothers and grandmothers and losing it is like losing them all over again. I didn’t watch Guiding Light with my mother, but I did find out that my grandmother used to listen to is on the radio. The show I watched with my mother was As The World Turns. A few months before her death I sat down with my mother and my sister to watch the ATWT 50th anniversary show, so I do understand what the loss of this show means to them.

At times when my heart has been overwhelmed with emotion and/or circumstance, this verse from the Bible often comes to mind:

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name."
John 12: 27-28a

My own paraphrase is that when you feel overwhelmed, tempted to say "God, get me out of this!"...it could be that all that has you tied up in knots is the very reason you're there. Perhaps there is a purpose to it all.

Now I can’t say that God created The Guiding Light to be a literal beacon of love to the whole world. But I know that it has brightened lives and lightened the load of millions of viewers around the world throughout its long and storied run on radio and television. I know that about 6,000 people now consider themselves to be part of a Big Purple family that didn’t even exist a year ago. Many lives have been changed and friendships have been formed as we have leaned on each other, given and received encouragement and fought for a common cause.

As you look at where you’ve been and what happens next, let me encourage you to look for what is positive...constructive...empowering…uplifting...and then you'll see the next step to take. I have a feeling that many more lives will be touched by the stories yet to be told by Crystal, Kimmy & Hope.

The Afterglow Lives On

I watched the Daytime Emmys and I have mixed emotions about it all. I agree with many reviewers that I would have preferred less of some things and more of others, but after all it took to get this awards show on the air I was just grateful to be able to see it at all.

The opening number was a lot of fun and I appreciate the fact that the Otalia scene was the only one that did not include an award nominee. It still would have been nice to get a reaction shot of Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia, though.

The Guiding Light tribute was too short and I understand it was actually edited down because they were running short on time. Seems a shame to do that to something that has become an American institution. I was glad to see all the cast members on stage and would have loved to have heard a few words from them, too, instead of the abrupt cut to commercial.

Some reviewers have complained that there were too many shots of the audience and too few of the cast. But it was wonderful to see all of the audience, filled with soap actors, producers, etc. standing to their feet and giving such an emotion-filled ovation to their colleagues on stage. I noticed more than a few tear-filled eyes in the crowd. And I'm so glad they got a shot of Kim Zimmer, giving her two-fisted thumbs up to them all while saying "Keep alive! Keep alive!" Everyone knows the genre is changing and perhaps dying if it doesn't evolve.

By the way, the original, four minute version of the Guiding Light video tribute can be found here: Michael Fairman Soaps It bothers me that apparently Blake was left out, though, because she's one of my favorite characters these days.

I loved Betty White's speech that ended with these words: "Its light may be dimmed but its afterglow will live on." I was thinking about that and made a new design for my Zazzle shop (other variations are available):

Afterglow Mug #3 by donnapool
More Guiding Mugs

Afterglow Black Ladies T-shirt by donnapool
Browse more Guiding T-Shirts

The Light at the End

Now that the last episode of Guiding Light on CBS is drawing near I see a rising chorus of "they should not have bothered" to even tell the story of Otalia because they didn't see all they wanted to see. So much anger before knowing who it is that limited the story and who they were trying to please. Claims that this couple was never seen as sexual in any way.

Yet so far we've heard Frank, Rafe, Blake & Josh all assuming that Olivia and Natalia have been sexually active all along. We've seen Olivia's desire, and although some would say we never saw it from Natalia we certainly saw it this week. Oh, and there was that time they talked about the fact that they both want it to happen.

I can't even begin to understand the "shouldn't have bothered" point of view ...as though all that matters is the end of the story.

Over the past few months I saw scenes that were brilliantly written and beautifully played by two of the most talented actresses I've ever had the privilege to watch. Everything from silly humor to life-changing heartbreak and angst and the promise of hope for something better yet to come.

Story-wise, I saw a woman who was once the town pariah finding that she had friends who reached out to her in her time of grief. A woman who thought she'd never find love was transformed by it. A woman of faith was not depicted as a complete idiot or a judgemental fool but as someone who sincerely sought to know God and His truth and live accordingly. I saw that love transforms people and those who have lost hope can find it again.

That was worth tuning in for. I'm glad they told this story. Glad that I saw the people of Springfield encouraging this relationship of two women in love. Okay, maybe not all of the people of Springfield, but even one would have been more than most other shows on daytime have given us.

It would have been wonderful to have seen this show stay on the air at least for another year or two so we could see their story unfold more completely. (Not just their story, but all the others, too) Just because that didn't happen, I'm not going to claim that nothing good came from this story. I truly believe that one reason this story was put on air was to try to reach the minds and hearts of the general audience, those who do not support same sex relationships. And I know it has worked for some. Who knows how many votes may have been changed, how many families reunited, how many people find their own personal peace in part because of the way this story played out on screen, just the way it was.

What Would Olivia Do?

I've had a lot of fun playing around with designs for fans of "Guiding Light" and adding them to my Zazzle shop. This week it was announced that the extraordinary Crystal Chappell will be moving on to "Days of Our Lives" this fall. In honor of her character on "Guiding Light", Olivia Spencer, I designed this:

My Life is a Soap Opera: Olivia Mug by donnapool
View other Otalia Mugs

Save the Light Rally NYC 5.22.09

I've made no secret of the fact that I watch soap operas. I keep the TV on while I'm doing my artsy craftsy thing every day and my soaps keep me company while I work. A few years ago, when I was stuck in the house with a sinus infection and feeling particularly isolated, I looked around on the internet and found a way to connect with other soap fans on message boards and my life has been enriched as a result.

I now have friends all over the world, many of whom I've met in person at fan events or when they vacationed in my area. I've even made some of my teddy bears to be autographed and auctioned off for charity at a luncheon for Eden Riegel in October of last year.

So when I was contacted by organizers of a very special event, I was delighted to do what I could for the cause. Fans of Guiding Light will be joining together for a rally in New York City on May 22, 2009. The organizers of this event found me because I'd made some buttons for "Team Otalia", the fans of the love story of Olivia and Natalia on Guiding Light. These buttons had been mentioned by some soap reporters who covered a fan event at Universal Studios. It was Andrea Berry of eLife magazine who remembered those buttons and told the organizers of the rally how to find me. I put together some designs and now, you can get your buttons for the rally here.



This show has been on the air for 72 years (first radio, then TV) and was recently canceled by CBS. I just started watching this one a few months ago and was immediately hooked by some of the best writing and acting I've seen on daytime TV in years. Like millions of other fans, I am hopeful that the show can find a new home on another network.