I suppose I shouldn’t admit it, but for many years I planned my life to some degree around the soap opera Days of Our Lives. In college I took all morning classes so I could be through in time to watch “my soap”. As a young mother I put my children down for naps at 1:00. At the beach I came in 1:00 to escape the hottest part of the day. Coincidence? I think not. It’s okay. I’m in good company. Time reported that Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall used to call recess at 1:00 to check in on the Hortons and Bradys.
I gave up watching several years ago. It got a little wacko even for a diehard fan like me, but I still had my favorites. Today I happened to see the funeral of Alice Horton an original 1964 cast member and matriarch of the family. So I had to stop and watch…to pay my respects.
Frances Reid who played Alice for over four decades passed away in February of this year at the age of 95. Her last appearance on the show was in December of 2009. She was famous for her homemade doughnuts and sage advice in a family that often needed both. She was lovingly known as “Gran” . Kristen Alphonse’s character summed it up at the tv funeral: “She was the woman I always hoped I would be.”
Now the rational part of me knows that Frances Reid was just playing a part on a soap opera….knowing Alice didn’t mean I knew Frances. But still….she was the grandmother a lot of people longed for or the one they wanted to be.
I’ll miss just knowing she is there…just in case, I wanted to tune in….
1914-2010
Watching Alice was definitely one of my favorite things. I am joining Laurie at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie for My Favorite Things.
