I turned 50-years-old this year, and am an unashamed fan of soap operas. I’ve watched my fair share over the years, including All My Children and General Hospital, but my all-time favorite was One Life To Life. Victoria Lord as brilliantly portrayed by Erika Slezak, was such a phenomenal character. Throughout my high school and college years, I enjoyed seeing her triumph over mental illness, tussle with her archenemy Dorian Lord, cope with frequent grief, grapple dissociative personality disorder, and the legacy of sexual abuse left her by her depraved father. She overcame it all by means of wisdom, compassion, empathy, kindness, courage, and grace. It also didn’t hurt that she was extremely wealthy. :-) Some of the best acting I’ve ever seen has been on a soap opera, and I have always felt the medium is unfairly derided and disrespected.

I applaud you for being proud of a medium that has launched the careers of many “A-list” actors, tackled important social issues, and provided decades of entertainment for millions.