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.