UPDATED 8-18-08

 VIEW FROM THE VALLEY

It’s a family thing……

Skye, Hayley, JR and now Colby!!!! Their must be something about being a member of the Chandler family that causes it’s offspring to hit the bottle. 


 

Schedules needing changed, writing columns, coaching, working as youth director at my church, doing interviews for the site,  housework, laundry, running a taxi service for children, being a “soccer” mom at sporting events and spending time with my honey. Not to mention, squeezing in early morning runs and workouts at the gym (hey I have to keep my 80+ pound weight loss going). 

Yes I live a VERY busy life and with the new school year (my real job as a high school guidance counselor) on the horizon, my stress level is taller than the Empire State Building right now. Each and every one of us has stress. In fact, something tells me that we could all point to the various stressors in our lives that cause our blood pressure and such to creep it’s way up the charts.

My early morning runs and afternoon workouts at the gym, are just 2 of the multitude of things this columnist does to help relieve the stress (and as you can see bunches of it) that seems to pile up on the plate we call life. But I have to confess, sometimes my stress gets the best of me and I have to, well I have to……….

Hit my secret and hidden stash of CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, Chocolate is my downfall when stress kicks in. I do not know what it is about chocolate that just makes the day seem better. Hmmmm if chocolate makes everything in my world harmonious, then maybe Adam Chandler should bring a chocolate factory to Pine Valley.

Then his children would not have to hit the bottle to cope with their problems and to be a member of the Chandler family. For longtime viewers, we watched Adam deny the alcohol problems of his eldest daughters, Skye and Hayley. We all had hoped and wondered whether or not Adam had learned and honed in his parenting skills, and would keep his son JR away from the bottle….WRONG!!!!!

It was not until they hit (or were about to hit) rock bottom that Adam finally stepped up to the plate as a parent and got them the help that they needed.  What was it about being a member of the Chandler family (not to mention an offspring of Adam’s) that caused these 3 to turn to the bottle? Did Adam screw up their lives sooo bad?

Well, it appears that Adam needs to enroll in Parenting Skills 101, as his youngest offspring Colby now seems to be following in the footsteps of her older siblings. I typically do not like nor invest the time into the teen storylines that most of the shows write. Being 33, the issues I face and deal with on an everyday basis are MUCH different than those that most teens deal with nowadays. 

The “I Know What you Did Last Summer,” rip off storyline has not captured my attention (as I had hoped with the death of Ritchie), however Colby’s battle with the bottle is one storyline that can. Ever since Colby returned to town as a teenager, I could not fathom as to why the show never explored her life on the run with Liza. 

Yes, we caught glimpses of what her life was like but nothing concrete was ever shown to viewers. Maybe this storyline, will allow Brianne Moncrief to come into her own in the role of Colby, while educating many teenage and young adult viewers.

Alcoholism and teenage drinking is one issue that is becoming prevalent in today’s society and it could produce some great storylines for all the cast involved and tie into the show’s history. 

If Pratt is smart, he would bring back Robin Christopher, Kelly Ripa and even Marcy Walker Smith and intertwine them into the storyline, as they stage an intervention to help Colby. As each of these characters work with Colby, it could also allow them to look at their own lives and struggles, not to mention exploring the strain in the mother/daughter relationship. 

It’s a family thing or more like a curse to be in the Chandler family…..

Should the show explore an alcoholism storyline for Colby?? Which of the characters listed above would make the most impact by returning for this storyline? Click on the email link below to send me your thoughts..

 

 

 

Until next time…. the “Children” have spoken

 

 

 

 

LAST WEEKS COLUMN

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