July Challenge: Spinelli, the reason I watch GH by Stephanie

Spinelli, the reason I watch GH

There are many reasons why I fell in love with watching the lovable very eccentric character that Bradford Anderson has made to be the Spinelli we all know. The strange and out there personality that brings a breath of fresh air to the usual same old same old routines of Port Charles. Spinelli also has a way of bringing me closer to my family. You may think I am crazy but read on.

My family has definitely seen heartbreak, as has most families in the world. My father passed away at the ripe old age of 48. My mom who was 5 years younger than him took it pretty hard, as would anyone, but she could hide it well. The one thing that the girls in the family had was GH. We watched religiously and that hour everyday was our chance to bond. Quietly we sat enthralled in the program until the commercials came. Those five minutes in between we discussed the show like it was reality. Those characters were people that we knew well and could see into the very depths of their thoughts and knew the history of their life.

Soon after all of the time we devoted to looking into the lives of GH characters we began to become bored. All of the storylines reminded us of a song by Bare Naked Ladies titled “It’s all been done!” We got to where everything was predictable. There was always someone cheating on someone else and the stupidest pairings. (Sam and Rick) Can we say gross! On top of that when people die in soaps u can always bring them back. If they show their dead bodies oh we can always bring them back as a twin. It just became ridiculous, but we watched religiously even still.

Later in 2005 I got married and moved 2000 miles away. It just wasn’t as fun to watch soaps. It made me homesick, homesick for my mother and sister, homesick for those times that we had during commercials, and homesick for the quietness that we sat in while we took in all that the people of Port Charles had on display for us. I got caught up in my own life instead of the fiction of my friends on GH.

One day out of the blue my mother called and was so excited “Have you seen GH today? There is this new character named Spinelli he is so awesome? He is hilarious you have got to see him!” Well after that phone call I had to watch. I hadn’t heard my mom that excited about anything since my dad died. The Jackal had my mom’s attention. The Jackal had my attention as well. He was something new and different. We didn’t know what he was going to do next. It was captivating. We always wondered who he was going to name next and what name Tracy would call him next.

I got to go home to visit my mom earlier this month and I saw how truly happy Bradford Anderson as Spinnelli made her. Not only was she tuning in to watch the story of his fictional life, she was logging on to his fan blog two and three times a day. The woman was on the blog page at midnight for goodness sake. I had never seen her so happy about anything in a long time and it touched me. I got to have the bonding times again only this time was different. Every commercial was “oh I wonder when Spinelli will get with lulu,” and “that orange soda incident is so funny,” and “what will he do to get in more trouble.”

Now that I am back at home with my husband, I miss my mother deeply. Something has changed though; I watch GH everyday by myself. I don’t feel as homesick about it though, because I know that 2000 miles away my mom and sis are there at home watching in anticipation of seeing Spinelli just like me. During the commercials I just picture mom and my sister laughing their heads off at the latest fight with Logan, the orange soda, or the latest dream of him with Lulu. I feel closer to my family because I know while I am sitting in my living room tuning in to GH my mom is doing the same, when I am laughing at Bradford’s latest antics she is too, and most of all when my mom calls to see what I am up to we have another conversation starter. I always know that when I say have you seen Spinelli today there is always lots to talk about!

You may think these reasons to love a fictional character are crazy, and you may be right but they make since to me. They make sense to my family and that is all I need. How often do you hear of an actor bringing a family together just through a TV screen? Well it has happened to us and I know it feels good to have that. I am truly sad when there is an episode without Bradford making an appearance because I know that 2000 miles away so is my mother. Since I left I have been trying to think of a way for my mom and sis to meet Bradford. I know it would be a dream for them. Trust me they are OBSESSED! So far no luck but I am hoping that I can win this autograph to send to them because although it is not Bradford in person, it is a start.
--

Hi I am Stephanie a 21 year old wife of a SRA in the Airforce stationed in Montana. GH has been a part of my life since I was probably 10 years old or younger.