I should get up

I should get up, I should go out. I'm sure there's something I can't do without...

"I should get up/ I should go out/ I'm sure there's something/ I can't do without..."

These words rung out as a montage of the utterly forlorn unfolded in the background - Lulu on the docks looking wistfully out at the water, convinced Johnny didn't escape the explosion; Sonny in the midst of destroying all remnants of his past, torching the Fortune Teller machine who spit out the "You will stand alone" prediction; Nikolas fearing he'd never see Emily again while trying to wrap his mind around the news of his tumor causing hallucinations, Robin facing and uncomfortable run in with Patrick in the locker room after finding out she was pregnant with his child, and being reduced to sobs after he leaves without speaking a syllable to her; Jason watching in the wings as a smiling Lucky bounces onto the elevator with Jake in his arms while Jason can't even acknowledge his some with a glance or a nod.

A wonderful song, and a perfect soundtrack for the day's angst. If you missed Monday's episode where this catchy Teddy Thompson song was played, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWVQcpqd9A8 Kudos to the ABC/GH song picker! Man, I would give just about anything to have such a job!

And while we're on the topic of music, who knew resident heir to the Mob throne Johnny Zacharra could play piano? As if the guy wasn't hot enough, right? I confess, I'm a sucker for a musician, and when I saw him sit down at the piano keyboard and begin to play, it took my breath away a little.

Lulu found an injured Johnny and has him holed up at the Haunted Star. Her nursing skills are somewhat lacking - she is keeping him alive on stolen Amoxicillin and Pie. Logan knows their secret hiding place but hasn't given them up as he doesn't want to risk alienating Lulu all together. Lulu's heart is divided right now. Half of her cares for Logan and knows he's probably the better choice, but there is just something about a bad boy that we think we can fix, right girls? Lulu sees Johnny as a guy trapped by his upbringing and circumstance, and she wants desperately to help him break free. She can't get Johnny out of her mind and can't make herself stop helping him even though it's proven to be dangerous. She's been kidnapped and nearly killed over Johnny, but fear isn't enough to make her turn her back on him.

Johnny is in hiding because Mac and th rest of the PCPD who NEVER get the right suspect in custody, are certain that Johnny is the infamous Text Message Killer and responsible for Georgie's death. The DNA test results said something entirely different; of course, the test nailed Cooper Barrett as a match. For weeks now it's been pointing to Coop being the killer, but suddenly we have the Surly No Name bus boy at Kelly's who's shown up once or twice. I went to college and took writing classes, and this is one of the things they tell you to NEVER do. If you're writing a mystery, your readers are trying to follow along, pick up clues and solve the mystery along with your detective. It's cheating to write in a new character two pages from the end that the reader could never have guessed as they didn't exist. I think that should hold true for Soaps, too. We've been wondering - is it Anthony Zacharra, or Trevor, or Jerry, or Coop, or Logan, or Johnny, and everyone has all their well thought out theories, and in walks Surly Bus Boy and the audience collectively says "We've been Punked."

Alexis and Sam are now in the sights of the Text Message Killer, and he's threatened them both. Coop had a theory about what all the victims had in common, but he'll never get to divulge it since he's dead now. Was it a suicide, or a murder? Was he really guilty and the DNA test was too much for his conscience, or did Surly Bus Boy do him in when he asked too many questions? Poor Maxie must feel like a Black Widow, all of her mates keep dying. From her primal scream on Friday when she fond Coop - I am looking forward to seeing her scenes, Kirsten Storms has done some brilliant work lately during Georgie's death, and I suspect Coop's death will give her even more opportunities to shine.

On a totally unrelated and random note - whoever is doing the hair for GH is a genius. When I saw Tracy this week, Jane Elliot's new do is the best cut I have ever seen on her- she looked stunning and 10 years younger. And just when we were getting used to Kate's do, Megan Ward's do was changed up and it's fun and fresh, too. So, if the GH Hair Department reads my column - I think you're all very talented and should get big fat raises. Oh wait, TPTB won't even give the Writer's a cut of their own work when it sells. I forgot who I was talking about...

Carly meddles in everyone's business all the time, and this week she had her fat mouth in everyone's face preaching to them the Gospel according to Carly, and Jason finally told her the ugly truth. "I know you care, but how you show it is not good. You come down on people with both feet because they're not doing what you want or what you think is best." Carly softened her angry demeanor and got all teary eyed and said "I want you and me and Sonny to have everything and something always gets in the way." And Jason responded with words Carly could not have anticipated - "Right Carly. And sometimes that something is you" OUCH. She quietly slinked out the door without another word.

Just as well, she needs to go home and beat that bratty kid of hers. Michael is dead set on getting his hands on a gun, and is collecting "Dollars for Dolphins" some fake charity he made up to get enough grown ups to droop in cash that he can score a gun from some scary teenage street toadies. Jason caught him in Sonny's office trying to steal a gun and locked it away from him. (Really, it took a kid trying to steal it before they thought to lock up their firearm??? As many people as come in and out of that office, like people who hate them and would love to frame them like Ric and Trevor, you'd think they wouldn't make it so easy for their enemies to get their hands on their guns already all fingerprinted and such. But I digress. Michael now has a firearm and is out walking around angry and armed. This can't be good...

Sonny isn't around to keep an eye on his kid either, he proposed to Kate and when she walked away leaving his question unanswered, he lost his mind. He bought the restaurant they ate in and torched the place, burning down his memories, ridding himself of his childhood, obliterating all reminders of their history, desperately trying to rid his heart of Kate.

Why didn't she run into his arms screaming "Yes! Of course I will marry you!"? She adores him. She's crazy about him. Kate told Sonny that he is Home to her. But in order for the two of them to be together, they would have to find a way to merge two very different worlds and Kate can't see a way to bridge so large a gap. If they could "just forget the world" as the song says, she would marry him tomorrow. But the world exists and she has no idea how to make their two galaxies unite.

Kate has a career and a life she has worked very hard to attain. To be with Sonny, she would have to start her life from scratch, toss away everything she has struggled to achieve and eradicate every professional dream and ambition. Sonny's world is not safe so Kate would have to accept that she would be in constant danger, locked away in penthouses with guards and bulletproof glass. But Kate is a social animal who is used to cocktail parties and art galleries and owning the town. She loves Sonny, but he doesn't feel comfortable in her world, and she doesn't feel comfortable in his. So where do they go from here? They genuinely love one another, so I suspect the writers will write us a tidy little happy ending? Until of course ratings dip and they break them up to get a few more people to tune in.

As Sonny burns memories of his past to the ground, his brother Ric is trying to lay his past to rest, too -staring at their old house as if it had answers and might speak to him. As he stares at the house, he sees what happened inside its walls last time he was there. I related to that. My old home in Ohio where I lived for 35 years is filled with memories. When I moved to San Diego 10 years ago, I sat in the yard and sobbed at the thought of leaving it. When I went home to visit last summer, my best friend and I broke into my old house. Yes, I know that's horrible, and illegal and sinful. But my Dad and Grandpa built that house, and I had lost them both since I'd been back home, and it was vacant - I just had to get in their, I can't tell you why. A couple of readers wrote and said "Why is Ric standing in front of that house staring?" and - he probably can't verbalize it either.

All that aside, this is a catalyst for Ric to meet his new love interest Marianna. Note that even though she's a new character, I made a point to find out her name. Why? Because, I like her. They had a couple of very sweet exchanges and I am hapy Ric is going to get a storyline that's not about being mad at Sonny. She said "People say I talk too much." Ric replied, "You're not with people now, you're with me" She told Ric it was best he didn't see inside that house, as it was sad inside. After they spoke a few minutes, she said "The house isn't the only thing that's sad inside." How refreshing to meet a female character who's not a shrew. Most of the women on the show are so brash and belligerent - (Carly and Sam spring to mind) that the very welcome contrast of a lady who seems genuinely sweet is a nice touch. Ric needs someone nice.

As to Sam, the writers this week and last are doing a lot to try to redeem the character. I actually felt sorry for her this week as she wrestled with the fear of losing Lucky - she knows when he finds out what she has done, he will end things with her, even though I believe she is honestly attempting to change. This week she remembered her brother Danny, defended Alexis' life from the text message killer, and was very sweetly taking care of Liz's kids when Lucky had to go to the station (although Liz was LIVID when she fond her there.) and I am happy to see a softer side of Sam emerging again.

One of the most complex storylines right now is the saga of Nikolas and Emily. The doctor told him in no uncertain terms - his brain tumor is causing hallucinations. The visitations from the love of his life that appear so vivid and real is nothing but a side effect of his illness. And with that in mind, he's opted to reject surgery on his tumor because to have the tumor removed is to lose Emily forever. Nikolas concluded he would rather be dead than live without Emily. Have you ever loved so deeply that you were certain you life would lose all meaning without your beloved? Have you ever felt a love so intense that it follows you night and day, in your dreams, in your every waking thought? Have you been so in tune to another human being that you believe you could be on different planets and still feel one another?

If you have answered yes to these questions, then you understand the Nikolas and Emily storyline. If you have not, then you probably think this storyline is insane. Our personal experiences color everything we see and hear, and I have heard from people at both ends of the spectrum. I have gotten mail that says "I would make the same choice; I could never live without my true love." And I have also gotten, "Is Nik out of his fricking mind? Get rid of the tumor and find some other chick, I bet that little blonde nurse would sleep with you." Either you understand that kind of connection, or you don't.

What kind of job can you get where you can sneak off and have sex everyday in the workplace? I've been working since I was 16 and I have never been able to sneak into some closet at work and have sex with anyone. Do the rest of you do this? Have I been missing out my whole life thinking I should just sit at my desk and work? This storyline with Patrick and Leyla is ridiculous. He's a brain surgeon and you'd think someone might be looking for him when a patient comes in who cracked their head open at a football game. And I am sure Epiphany is always looking for a student nurse to wipe up some vomit, or empty a bedpan, but apparently they can just get naked and do it in any empty room in the hospital and no one notices they are missing.

Now that Ian Devlin is in town, Leyla will have someone else to sleep with in supply closets and make Patrick jealous. And (Spoiler alert, skip to next paragraph if you don't want to know....) Rumor has it that Dr. Evlin is not as charming as he appears. In fact, first time you see him in the locker room, you may want to check him out for some familiar...ink. Leyla is right, "He's trouble."

More trouble is on the way to town, and apparently, this brand of trouble has 50 pairs of red shoes. It's a risky idea, bringing back such a popular actress in another role - but Sarah Brown is so amazing, if anyone can pull it off, she can.

What will happen tomorrow dear readers? Will Mac regret chasing Felicia out of town after 2.5 episodes? Will UnJax turn back into TruJax? Will No Name Nurse keep hitting on poor hallucinating Nikolas? Will Liz start cooking all her food on a George Foreman G5 Grill so she has no need for matches to light her gas stove? Will I read stuff I wrote today in a popular soap magazine two weeks from now under someone else's byline? Will I ever get "I Should Get Up" out of my head? Will Lulu ever pick a boy? Will some poor kid in Benson Hurst find the Wilma Flintstone sized Diamond Sonny hurled down the street and feed his family for the winter?