Daytime Addiction C he typical Harding spring day, right after lunch, I walked casually back to my dorm to change books for my afternoon classes. The day was sunny and bright and warm. An assortment of couples sprawled on quilts on the front lawn, while a few admirably energetic students played frisbee on the grass and tried to look like a Sunkist commercial. I swung open the front door of Stephens' dorm and stepped into the murky lobby which was lit only by the pale blue glow of the TV screen. Before my eyes had adjusted I heard a sultry voice murmur, "Oh, Seymour, don't leave me here in bed like this. What if your wife suddenly regains her memory and finds her way home?" "Don't worry, darling," came the husky reply. "I've had all the locks changed. And besides, Angela's scheduled for a complete lobotomy on Tuesday. Then all our worries will be over." As the room came into focus I saw the semicircle of enthralled viewers - mostly female but a few male - sitting on the floor with their knees drawn up under their chins, eyes bulging, and perfectly still except for an occasional jerky movement as one would reach out, blindly, for a handful of popcorn. I paused for a moment, but being an ex-addict myself, I didn't dare tempt fate by lingering long, so I tore myself away and hurried to my room. Who were those poor souls who curved their spines, cut classes, and deprived themselves of sunlight to keep up with the sordid affairs of Feyodor and Julia, or Johann and Esmerelda, of Johann and Julia. They were the nameless victims - the Soapaholics. Symptoms of the disease varied. Some ate hurried lunches and rushed out, muttering something about a prior engagement. Others actually arranged their clases around the hours of one and three, taking five or six years to graduate. Some came to school already addicted; some caught the germ from friends in the TV lounge. I myself, one infected by the disease, managed to shake it off only by saying into the mirror "I am a s-ss-s-soap addict;' every day for several months. And almost anyone was vulnerable - that was what made Soapitis so terrifying. One evening last July, as I returned at midnight from my job, I found my younger brother, a big, burly freshman who was doing construction work for the summer, sitting cross-legged in the den floor, still in his work clothes, and watching All My Children on the VCR. I leap-frogged over him, but he only slapped at the air, oblivious, and muttered, "Dang mosquito:' I shook my head sadly and walked away. It was too late to help him. He was hooked.(I> - Sherry Daniel The plot thickens! Sophomore Jody Loudermilk from Stuttgart and sophomore Regina Campbell from New York, NY are engrossed in the t.v. set as they anticipate the fate of one of their favorite characters. The critically acclaimed " Days of Our Lives" seemed to be one of the more popular soap operas on campus. - photo by Jerry Traughber. Nancy Lynn Moye - Searcy, AR Jodie Janeen Murray - Carthage, MO Alicia N. Music - Grapevine, TX Jamie Lee Nanney - Bells, TN Mary Elisbeth Neal - Batesville, MS Robert G. Neely - Little Rock, AR Randall Scott Neill - Cary, NC Cynthia Diane Nichols - Searcy, AR Cynthia Marie Nichols - Natchez, MS Karen Gay Nichols - Slireveport, LA John Timothy Noah - Amarillo, TX Lisa Renee Noblitt - Vienna, VA Cynthia Dale Nutgrass - Louisville, KY Samuel 0. Nwaneri - Lagos, Nigeria Gregory S. Oden - Brandon, MS Don Will Oelze - Bedford, IN Lenore Lynn Oelze - Bedford, IN Eric Wade Ogren - Tucker, GA Chris Eugene Olive - Fruitland Park, FL Terry Wayne Oliver - Vero Beach, FL John Floyd Otis - Heuvelton, NY Julia Ann Overstreet - Fayette, MO Ronald Thomas Pacheco - Flippin, AR Kenneth Earl Page - Papua, New Guinea Michelle Andrea Palmer - Warren, MI Steven Carroll Parrett - Dallas, TX Odas Edward Parsons - Searcy, AR Jonathan Andrew Partlow - Portland, OR Shades of Juniors 125
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