On This Day, One Year Ago

A year ago today, One Life to Live shot its last scenes in the studio.  While I, as an AD/Editor, continued to work for several weeks after, editing and clearing for air our last group of shows, for most people, November 18 was the last day. THE LAST DAY.

For months before that, I had listened to people bemoaning the show's coming to an end, but couldn't grieve myself.  I didn't feel sad exactly, just somewhere between numb and excited about being thrust into the world.  This would be the start of great new things for all of us, right?

And then November 18 came.  And as I walked into the studio, and the most unlikely people hugged me, it hit.  And as a crowd of people gathered after the very last scene, it was real.  This was the last time we would shoot anything here. The last time I would walk among this group of people, share the daily inside jokes, feel that kind of belonging, in a place where even the most unlikely people would hug you on the last day.

Though I continued to edit for weeks after that, I couldn't go back to the studio and the control room--the emptiness there was just too overwhelming.  I'd found my voice in the One Life to Live studio and control room, and now both places were quiet.  No voices at all.

Many of us have moved on.  A year has passed--so quickly--and some days I feel I have moved on, other days, not so much.  I guess the fact that I'm writing about this day means that today, it's "not so much."  It was a special thing we were a part of, and a special day we shared a year ago.  So when a day comes when I feel I have "moved on," I will make sure that "moving on" doesn't include forgetting the laughs and the hugs and the voice I found there.

Happy November 18.