Washed my Mouth... I Mean my BRAIN... out with Soaps

Here's one of the (admittedly many) skeletons from my closet:

I watched a lot of soap operas when I was young.

My grandmother, who lived with my parents and me, and was my primary caregiver while my parents were at work, was an avid soap watcher. She called them her "programs."

I have strong recollections of "The Edge of Night", which was on even before I started school. We also watched "Another World" which, I must say, was definitely our *main* show. We also followed its spin-off called "Texas" which didn't last too long, but we stuck with it for as long as it lasted. When "Texas" ended, to fill the gaping void in our lives, we switched to "General Hospital"... I think I was in high school by then, and I even continued to watch it when I went away to university. I'm afraid to think of how many hours of my young life were spent absorbing the stuff.

However, I'm *sure* it had no impact on my developing interactions with real people.

Except now, I finally understand why my wife doesn't care for some of my tendencies which I may have unconsciously absorbed from all my "programs"...

Making a dramatic statement, then staring blankly ahead while I wait for the scene to cut away...

Never saying anything new without recapping everything that's gone on in the last few days, even though nothing important *ever* happened...

Using any social event to approach and confront all the people who have wronged me...

But hey, it's all worked for me so far!

(... this post has been brought to you by Palmolive. Softens your hands while you do dishes. You're soaking in it!)