Background to the title of this blog entry:
Years ago when my husband and I lived in Maryland, we listened, on Saturday afternoon/early evenings [4-7 pm on WPFW/89.3 FM] to an addictive show of Andrea Bray's called "Blue Lights in the Basement". Andrea's show is an eclectic mix of oldies but goodies, great, rhythm & blues, soulful jazz classics. Her soothing, sultry voice encouraged us to sit back. Relax. Enjoy, as we dusted off the cobwebs of some long-ago gems and fondly took a look back and a listen to. Since then, I've affectionately adopted the sentiment, "Blue Lights in the Basement" to include old movies, t.v. shows, or great works of literature. Which leads me to this blog post: I wrote this piece three years ago when a band of Genie Francis' supporters created a group called "Genie's Angels" to fight to get her back on General Hospital. It was a successful campaign and one that Genie has appreciatively acknowledged. With the recent cancellation of two beloved soaps, and the looming threat of losing a genre that has been a part of my life since I was old enough to recall memories, [hm hm years ago] a friend recently asked if the LnL fans, that's Luke and Laura, for those of you not in the know, could say something nice about them. I reached back into my files and decided to dust this off. It's the nicest thing I can say about a couple, who, in my mind, will go down in history as one of the greatest romantic duos ever created. I will never be able to thank Genie Francis & Tony Geary enough for the many years of entertainment and joy that they have brought me. But, this is a start... Sit back. Relax. Enjoy!
An Epical Ode to Luke and Laura & a Love Never Forgotten
©Jhill Perran
August 10, 2008
For me, it began as a slow, simmered "Rise",
while the story unfolded through those incredible eyes.
The anguish, the longing, the heat of their stares,
kept me fanning myself, on the edge of my chair.
There was intrigue and mystery and passion that oozed -
between two, star-crossed lovers who were torn and confused.
And, we saw in the glimpse of that one, awful night,
how one man’s human foible made him a strange kind of Knight.
Luke’s remorse and despair cut to the depths of our soul,
and redemption began from the trust that he stole.
Yes, we rooted for him, and we rooted for her.
It was them who we hoped had a committed re-birth.
Because they suffered and struggled over their formidable love.
It was hard-fought and hard-won - but it fit like a glove.
We could not get enough of their angst-filled, raw, passion,
They were genuinely flawed, yet it was poignantly rationed.
Their story, as told, showed a unique kind of grace.
Luke found his absolution from an unlikely place.
The woman who received his most brutal attack,
found forgiveness within, and she offered it back.
In that moment, we couldn’t have cared for them more,
It was them who we cheered for! It was them we adored!
And that glorious summer, when they went on the run,
when they brought down the mob, without the use of a gun.....
Who’d have thought that one story could bring such fun-filled, pure joy-
than the one that was told through the Left-Handed Boy?
It was short-lived! We knew when that cigar band came off,
We were in for LONG days, but we were in for the haul....
We bore witness to some of the most powerful scenes
of a love that was spoken through the lines in between....
The unuttered words and their subtle nuance,
clearly showed their desire - the profoundness of want.
How is it that two people could make love without touch?
It was all in their eyes, and their eyes said so much....
We felt tingles and shivers and were giddy each minute,
in the way that they told it and how well they did spin it....
And the heat was turned up during summer number two,
diamonds, a yacht - a tropical island to boot.
There in their glory was Luke and his gal,
and his good-looking, sexy, Australian pal.
Yowzah, we thought! Who could ask for much more?
There was a starlet, a "mad" guy and bad guys galore!
Port Charles in the deep freeze, in August no less....
What a yarn that was spun with that name "Ice Princess"...
In the fall, finally! Finally! we all got the dream!
Luke and Laura united with the exchange of a ring....
Like Camelot, the magic was gone much too quick,
Something precious was lost in that cold, foggy, thick...
Oh, I cried when our Laura disappeared in the night,
And, for me, that’s when GH lost its most luminous light.
Luke without Laura? - Too painful to watch it back then,
But I watched in ‘83 when our ship sailed again....
I was there holding on......and holding my breath,
when they finally connected in that earth-moving caress...
In his arms, Laura jumped as Luke screamed out to God,
it was a path only made for Angels and Heroes to trod.
It was splendor and wonder and grace personified,
when those two saw each other, when they embraced and they cried.
One knew in that moment, that fairy tales do come true,
If you believe in such things, and I assure you I do!
It was magic, I tell you - seeing that miracle unfold,
Watching Laura and Luke spinning more tales of pure gold.
True love, it endures. It survives. It abides...
You saw it so clearly when you looked in their eyes.
Nothing and no one would keep them a part!
You can sever one’s ties but you can’t sever their heart!
And therein and throughout, lies the crux of it all,
One heart shared by two lovers can’t be arbitrarily recalled...
No one could keep Laura on an isle with a cool, hunk of steel,
No one would stop Luke from protecting his Angel from evil.
Thus, commenced an odyssey of adventure and fun,
Luke and Laura were together - happily, back on the run...
And the following year, we got the Aztec Adventure,
With that most special scene: the telling of a new, baby Spencer.
Then, they left us to go live their lives off the screen,
but we knew they’d return.....can you say "Halloween, 93"...
Oh, Happy Days! Happy Days! Happy Days, don’t you know!
Luke and Laura were back with their Lucky in tow.
What followed can only be summed up like this:
It was JUST as it was when we last saw them kiss!
The magic still sparked, in the whirl of their dance.
Down the Triple L aisle, and the heat of their glance,
and the way that they touched and the way that they moved,
Made our hearts pitter-pat as we swayed with their groove.
We giggled over hijinx, watched sorrow amidst happier times.
The birth of sweet, Lulu and news of a son: Cassadine.
There were struggles, separations, and severe growing pains,
Yet, through all of those lessons, it reinforced their one, great strength:
Love. Always love. It was love from the start.
Every obstacle faced couldn’t tear them apart.
Yet, the unthinkable happened - papers signed for divorce,
No! No! No! No! No! No! That’s not REALLY their choice!
"Why DID we get divorced?" Tony asked Genie one day.
She replied with regret, "Cuz they wrote it that way!"
Then, we watched them discover what WE knew all along,
It was there with each other where they truly belonged.
They must marry again. It was destiny’s fate!
Luke and his Laura would forever be bound as soul mates.
But, the other shoe dropped, and it blew all apart,
not only our story but these two lover’s heart.
It was disbelief, horror and I gasped "Holy crud!"
When that candlestick hit Rick, then fell with a thud.
What happened in that attic isn’t really that clear,
all I know, was I knew it was my worst kind of fear....
Genie leaving? Laura crazy? Please say it ain’t so!
It felt helpless and hopeless - it was the worst kind of low!
The one thing I felt was how unbelievably wrong,
it was to hush the splendor of their incredible song.
We love her! He needs her! Don’t take her away!
Luke’s humanity. His Angel. PLEASE! God! Let her stay!
Yet, it wasn’t to be and we all watched just how,
These two said their goodbyes in that sad, attic-vow.
Those vows, oh those vows....they serve to remind,
We were gifted with not one but TWO one-of-a-kinds!
When Luke lovingly said "just my Sweetheart and me,"
There was a crumble within and I went weak in the knees.
She was courageous! Outrageous! He said that’s what she’d need,
To throw in with a guy from the wrong-side of Elm Street.
Then, he marveled again at her beauty and grace,
as he vowed his true love, as tears streamed down his face.
I remember that look, when she looked in his eyes,
and she cried in her truth: it’s there she felt safest inside.
Laura told him with knowing, with a sincere, true-love grit,
that he lived in her heart....right in the center of it.
Then, she broke from her hero as he fought not to weep,
he lost all that had mattered. Had Luke sown what he reaped?
Had the chickens come home to finally roost on past sins?
That’s the seed that took hold of his demons within.
In the past, she had seemingly taken each hit,
for the payback that had Luke Spencer’s name written on it.
There was Mikkos, Stavros, Nikolas too,
Laura suffered because Helena sought to punish her Luke.
And if that weren’t enough, we mustn’t forget,
What it cost her because Luke chose her over Jennifer Smith.
As I went into mourning because Laura was gone,
still, my heart dared to hope she would, one day, come home.
And the memories of past times, when their love was in bloom,
kept me buoyed from the despair, disappointment and gloom.
In my mind, "Fascination" memories of a pink-feathered lift,
made my heart smile again, as I cherished the gift,
That Gloria Monty gave us, when she paired up these two,
and made history with daytime’s most-beloved, dynamic duo!
Years past, as we waited and prayed for a fix,
And the magic returned in the fall of ‘06.
Hallelujah and glory and Hallelujah again!
Laura’s back! She’s awake! From ear to ear spanned my grin.
It was wonder and heartfelt - nothing better than this,
when the name "Luke" was called out from those once-quieted lips.
And, we watched sheer relief as Luke turned in pure awe,
once again, gold was mined in the love that we saw,
as he knelt and he looked and he cried "is it you?"
And her hands traced his face as a small-smile broke through.
"Yes, it’s me!" she declared. She’d been there all along,
They could take her away but not silence their song!
It’s too powerful, this love - this story - this pair.
That’s evident! It’s been 30 years. 30! Years! Still, we care!!!
There was a moment - a happening, at Beecher’s Corner’s when they...
went to dance....it was a most sacred, revered interplay.
When her arm went around him and she buried her head,
there was so much unspoken yet so much clearly said.
When Luke held her and stroked her with such sweet tenderness,
It was Tony who assured Genie in that gentle, utterance:
"I know, Baby!"
It was all staring at me, but the lines clearly blurred.
For a moment, I wasn’t certain who it was I had heard?
I can tell you I saw much resolved in that embrace,
It was one more REAL moment of their beauty and grace.
Time had stood still. It had waited for them.
Four years disappeared; wiped away - a faint dim.
The story played out - in the span of mere weeks,
all the love and the longing and the wanting for keeps...
It’s a love story that’s been so much a part of the lives,
not just for the fans but those who breathed it to life.
Once again, we strapped in, for a wonderful ride,
that ended too soon - in the blink of an eye.
What’s the matter with those who are running this show?
Can’t THEY see when they’re holding an ace-in–the-hole?
It boggles the mind that we lost Genie again,
Especially when Tony declared HE wanted his friend,
to return to her home where they had more gold to mine,
but it fell on deaf ears. All requests were denied.
It was too much to bear, being deprived of what’s golden,
How was it that ABC didn’t feel the least bit beholden -
To these actors and their fans who once saved this show from ruin,
from a cancellation stamp when rating-troubles were brewing?
Could they have truly forgotten who put GH on the map?
It was raised up by an unsuspecting Angel and her unlikely Chap!
We still loved them and missed them and wanted them back,
it was humanity and grace that our show sorely lacked.
Thus began an uprising: "Genie’s Angels" campaign,
We weren’t taking this lying! It was clearly insane!
When a show’s lost it’s heart, it’s goodness and luster,
Is change-in-direction really THAT hard to muster?
It appeared so, but we demanded OUR voices be heard,
They could solve so many problems if they’d just bring back our girl!
Clean up the mob-violence - write it again as sub-text,
Get rid of the dead weight! That’s the thing to do next!
Give us love, and joy and some stories with passion:
Luke and Laura, family values, how bout hospital interaction?
That’s what we’ve longed for, prayed for, yet when hope seemed MOST lost,
that she was not coming back, no matter how much the cost...
Something magical happened....in the kindliest knack,
Someone heard us! Praise be! "Mama" Laura is back...
It may be a brief moment with regard to this stint...
But within it, there’s hope that’s much more than a glint.
There’s a story - a sunset - that sets NOT solely on him!
Every road, we all know, leads us right back to them.
LukeandLaura: it’s one idea, one love and one tale.
For the die-hards, this love story is OUR Holy Grail!
We won’t rest til the ending matches up with the truth,
with the narration that was told in the days of our youth.
See, some of us believe fairy tales can come true.
