The Best Laid Plans???

I woke up this morning to another snow day, grateful in a way, however, because of last evening's developments....walked down to the kitchen to get something to eat, and suddenly...could not stop laughing.

No, it's not time for the white coats, and no, I don't belong beside Marty Saybrooke in St. Anne's (though maybe I do at times). My laughter was upon the realization that over 6 months of plotting, searching, rumors, speculation and private detective work among everyone involved, the huge secret return is spoiled by - none other than the mouth of a 16 year old girl, via glorified texting online! Ha!

Of course, put this in perspective of my career, a middle school teacher, who, on a daily basis, deals with one or more of these things: cyberbullying escapades that result in hair-pulling contests, student phones going off in class, students texting in bathrooms, information flying through the student body via technology before we think we even have wind of it, and my own son spending time on tumblr instead of studying.

Now if the page is legit, imagine what the execs will think when they wake up this morning and see the internet abuzz with Roger's return - before they have even announced it? It makes you think a couple of ways. 1) THEY TOLD HER TO DO IT 2) "SHE IN TROUBLE!" 3) Technology is NOT reliable.

1) This is a leak, in intentional leak. Could there be ANY REASON TPTB wanted this leaked through a 16 year old's Formspring page? I am thinking about this long and hard. To me, it's definitely NOT the way they'd want this announced. The only thing it COULD be is an intentional leak so that they have someone to blame when he does not appear, so that ABC does not have to take the weight for misleading us, claiming it's not even the actress' page, or that her page was hijacked by some clever hackers. UNLESS, the show WANTED her to plant this info to calm the wars down, or for some other senseless reason....not the best route, especially if they cannot produce.

2) "SHE IN TROUBLE!" Like most teens I have worked with, and my son as well, there is a belief that they are hiding in the anonymity of the internet and that what they write is for them and their friends, and that others cannot and will not find it or use it to hurt them in any way. How appropriate this topic is in light of the problems in Egypt right now, the masses of cyberbullying incidents all over the country, the recent suicide of a middle schooler because of comments on Facebook, and the storyline on n one other than OLTL with Shane Morasco facing the same thing. A huge part of me believes this is her page, she did this, she's telling the truth, and she has just undone the best laid plans of all of these execs and spin doctors and even RH himself. There is NO ONE who can undo you like a teen, and if your a mom of one, or have been, you KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN. This could, if really true, etc, get her in some hot water at the show, couldn't it?  FOILED BY A 16 year old girl's inability to stop talking!!!

3) Technology fails, even in today's world. Her page IS HACKED and HAS BEEN ACTUALLY HIJACKED, and everything written there was put to work by an over-zealous fan just waiting to rule the soap world online.

Now don't misinterpret me.  This is NOT a column against the said teen.  AT all.  I give her tons of credit for managing to find and publish the answers we have been seeking for LITERALLY MONTHS!  This article is not to criticize as much as to praise her for doing something she unwittingly had no idea would have an impact on the world of grown women (admit it, fangurls) everywhere. I personally THANK HER for being honest, if she was, and can rest a little easier, maybe even get some of the laundry done and finish my grading for the week. I love my job, and the age group I work with.  I find teenagers to be interesting, funny, insightful, sweet, challenging, intelligent and on the cusp of social mores as they develop and change. I also find them able to UNDO THE BEST LAID PLANS, no matter what!  But, they make my job worthwhile, give me non-monetary rewards, and keep me on my toes, every day.

There you have it. I'd love to hear all your thoughts and points of view on this or any aspect of it. As always, I thank you all for participating and making TRTM what it is today, shout out especially to Juju who made all this possible with her tireless efforts to get Todd's REAL STORY online!


Formspring Account in question: http://www.formspring.me/kellisal/q/156028980661618011