One big happy family, maybe...

Family was front and center in Genoa City as Nick moved in with Sharon, Cane and Lily planned a day with the kids, and Hilary approached Devon about being her baby daddy. All this and more in this week's Two Scoops.

Despite the fact that last Wednesday was "International Woman's Day," the women on Y&R did not come off looking all that good. While there was a welcome emphasis on family, ironically, it was the men who most often provided the voice of reason. (Pardon my sensitivity; I just read a female newscaster's opinion that women are too dumb to handle money and shouldn't vote -- so I'm fuming, just like Ashley, at the blatant display of disrespect!) Anyway, after reading another news article stating that three quarters of men do not like being managed by a female boss and then seeing what an awful manager Victoria is proving to be, I thought, "Great, just who we need as a role model, and thank you, Y&R, for reinforcing the stereotype."

After that, I got a grip on reality and realized that "It's only a soap!" Plus, I'm as shallow as anyone, and I love to rag on Victoria, who is far from my favorite character. So here goes:

I think she has it all, so I wonder how Victoria can continue to be so insecure that she would treat anyone, especially her sister's mother, as unfairly as she did Ashley. She showed zero integrity. Why? Victoria has beauty, brains, wealth, privilege, and a loving family. Is Victoria's need for patriarchal approval so great that it overpowers all else? More importantly, are we supposed to believe that women have no value except in the eyes of men? These are the thoughts that were running through my mind, even as J.T. provided the voice of sanity and Victoria lied to him.

But then again, J.T. is lying to Victoria by failing to disclose that he is spying on Victor for Paul and Christine. Perhaps this is a case of the integrity-challenged leading the integrity-challenged. I'm reasonably sure that, eventually, both Victoria and J.T. will be found out by Darth Victor.

Victoria's employee meeting was a complete bust, and if I had been Lily, I would have walked out, too. In fact, I have done so in the past. One of the benefits of being single and frugal is that I don't need much to survive, so I never had to put up with a work situation that was stressful or demeaning unless it paid well enough that I wanted to, and now that I'm well past the age of retirement, I won't have to, ever again. I am happy for Lily. She showed courage and integrity when she walked out. I also think Cane's positive support was awesome -- and exactly the response a loving husband should have.

Lily's idea for a modeling agency is a good one that will have the Winters clan back together again when Kristoff St. John returns as Neil. The Hamilton-Winters group is the perfect fit for Lily and will pit her against Hilary for some verbal one-on-one. Devon employs female management and seems to be all for empowering women in business. Naturally, I'm rooting for his success because of his open-mindedness. Devon seems better at treating women as people than some of the other characters on Y&R, and that's what I'm all about: understanding that everyone deserves respect plus fair and equitable treatment in the workplace. If you can do the job, your pay should be based on your performance, not your gender.

Don't you think it is amazing how quickly Nick, Sharon, Christian, Faith, and Mariah became one big happy family? Not that I'm complaining! I know that Nick and Sharon are supposed to be "Just friends," but when, on a soap opera, has it ever worked out like that? Personally, I'd love to see Nick and Sharon reunite. They have the perfect family unit, and Nick and Sharon are still one of the all-time best supercouples. Sharon may be a bipolar crazy person, but at least she runs her own business, goes to college, volunteers on a hot line, and is not an insecure daddy's girl like Victoria.

I do think it odd that Nick was so set on keeping Christian away from Sharon a mere year ago and has now moved in with her. My preference way back then was for Sharon to share custody of Christian, who had bonded with Sharon as his mother. He must have some memory of her. Isn't it kind of jarring for him to have Sharon abruptly gone from his life and now abruptly thrust back in? Probably, but I think Christian will be better off having Sharon's loving care. I'm rooting for a Nick-Sharon reconciliation that Phyllis can't wreck.

Billy sounded so wise and grown up when he told Nick that he knew about Christian's parentage and would keep Nick's secret. It was obvious that Billy cares for Phyllis, which begs the question of why Phyllis seems so determined to interfere in Nick's life or why Phyllis thinks that Nick can't take care of himself. What a busybody! I was glad to see that Phyllis was worried about that herself when she called Hilary for a consultation. Phyllis realizes that her obsession with Nick could sink her relationship with Billy, and Phyllis does value that relationship. Phyllis pulled herself back from the brink and was honest with Billy. Billy and Phyllis seem to have a healthy relationship. Instead of enabling each other's weaknesses, they encourage each other's strengths.

Jack opined on how much he valued his relationship with Ashley, but he had a funny way of showing it. Colluding with Victoria to get Ashley fired from Newman was not a very nice way to treat his sister. Neither was denying it when Ashley confronted him. It's a good thing that Abby came home with Dina. She was just in time to dig up all the evidence necessary to clear Ashley. I can hardly wait to see what Victor does with the information that Abby tossed on his desk at the end of Friday's episode. I have a feeling that Victoria will soon be in the hot seat.

Meanwhile, the Abbotts, who have been such a strong family, are hurting. Dina's diagnosis and Jack's treatment of Ashley have caused a breech between the siblings that may take a long time to heal. I think that Jack is going to find that he needs Ashley more than she needs him, as is often the case with men who don't recognize the value of the silent support given freely and lovingly by their womenfolk.

I am happy that Marla Adams is back as Dina. It's very interesting to compare her performance on Y&R to Max Gail's as Sonny's dad on GH. I think both are doing a very fine job portraying the effects of Alzheimer's. It is so sad to think what this disease is doing to people and how powerless medical science is over it. My heart and prayers go out to those of you who know someone caught in its powerful grip.

Uh-oh, my cat, Pretty Kitty, has just signaled that it's time for me to stop typing and prepare her evening meal. After that, we have exercise. Pretty Kitty is so concerned with my health that she gets me up every morning at 7:00 a.m. to take my pills. And as long as I'm up, anyway, I feed her, pet her while she eats, change her litter, brush her, and spend a half hour playing feather on a string. By then, I need a nap, so she takes one for me!

Thanks again for letting me share my thoughts with you. As always, fellow fans, I welcome feedback about this column in the section provided below. I enjoy all your comments, even when you don't agree with me. Please return in two weeks for another edition of Two Scoops.

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