As the World Turns

According to the As the World Turns website the show first aired on April 2, 1956. I can remember watching the show in the summer of 1956 between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. A new junior high school was being constructed during the first half of my sophomore year. The senior high school went to class on a half day basis in the morning, and the junior high went to school in the afternoons. As a result of the half day classroom schedule, extra homework was assigned. Both my parents worked so I would go home to an empty house. I would fix my lunch and then watch As the World Turns before I started on my homework. By then I was addicted to the show.

It was amazing how I was able to follow the storyline after I was no longer able to watch on a daily basis. I kept up with the story through college and my working years by seeing it during vacations and holidays. In 1978 I bought a VCR and began taping the show. I had one of the first VCR’s in my neighborhood. Word got out that I was taping As the World Turns. There was a nice old lady who lived near me. Every so often I would get a phone call from her soon after I got home from work. She also was addicted to As the World Turns. If she missed the show, she knew she could count on me to let her see the tape. I enjoyed her company. She really took the soap seriously.

The quality of the show has varied over the years with the various writers. Sometimes it has really been good, but there have also been times that I question why I bother to watch it. I think the primary reason that I watch it is habit. I am glad that I am only addicted to one soap. I would hate to waste any more time.