I should have known it didn't bode well for Manny when headwriter Barbara Esensten said San Cristobel would become an "umbrella story" for the summer. I dislike how she uses the term as if it was a novel concept. (Last year, it was the stalker story, this year it's San Cristobel.) Isn't this a quintessential part of classic soap storytelling? The best stories have always involved a great number of characters, affecting each and every one of them. It's only in recent years that they have become isolated in their own worlds keeping only the minimum of contact with each other. Longstanding relationships are ignored to make place for insta-friendships convenient only for ongoing stories.

I can't tell you how it bothered me to hear Michelle say "I don't care if I ever see Springfield or anybody in it again" the night she and Danny were supposed to leave for San Cristobel. It's not the feeling of alienation itself that bothers me. It's how TPTB have decided to isolate Michelle by ignoring her ties with a multitude of characters in Springfield, instead of taking the time and trouble to feature them and have her face their reactions. Ed and Maureen's precious daughter is married into the mob family, yet no one seems to care. Not Vanessa, not Holly, not Ross, not Blake, not Matt ... Not Fletcher when he was around ....

Michelle has no parental figure, no friend, no confidant, and the rare time she gets to talk about her dreams and wishes, share them with somebody, her husband of all people, it's squeezed into a very short scene, at the beginning of an ep. When Frank and David showed up after the bomb scare, did they even acknowledge Michelle? Did either of them openly wonder why and how she could stay married to Danny? Was there even an eye-contact that implied disapproval or at least puzzlement?

Someone please explain to me why they're so unwilling to let her interact with other people, show in concrete terms how difficult it is for her to go up against not just her immediate family, but a "family" as large and influential as La Familia. The perfect opportunity for that would have been a large family affair like the July 4th Bauer Bar-b-que. I was so looking forward to it this year, excited at the prospect of so much tension brewing under one roof. Did TPTB jump at the chance? Nope. It became a non-event instead.

So why should I be surprised Guiding Light's stagnating in the ratings? I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting for TPTB to get their acts together, and treat us to the excitements they keep promising us, but instead, we're in a "lull." They have, demographically speaking, the most appealing pair of characters and actors to come in years, a couple other shows would fight tooth and nail to get their hands on and the Editor-in-Chief at not-GL-friendly Soap Opera Digest declared the "hottest young couple on daytime right now," and their story has hit a lull in mid-summer.

The long-awaited consummation took place off screen, the love scenes were as non-sweating as they could get in summer, generating even less heat than the lighthouse kiss we got in winter. That's brilliant, PTB. Where was the "reverence," by the way, at this milestone event, the awed feeling of this being their first time together?

I boo any attempt on the part of TPTB to rationalize our disappointments. They're the ones who chose to raise the stakes, to string us along for months, dangling the promise of a huge pay-off. They failed to deliver. What they came up with was not the satisfaction many of us were LED to expect. Stunned silence was not the reaction I expected of us after both epsisodes were over.

When I saw them for myself, I couldn't believe that I'd waited seven months for this, that I had to endure the grotesque sight of D/D deed making out for this. I couldn't even enjoy properly what I was given. Usually I'm so into Manny, I feel and breathe every word they say, every emotion they evoke. Not this time. I didn't mind the music, the chimes, the bed, the pink satin sheets ... the "sweet romance" theme in short.

I know they can do sweetness and still enchant me. I did mind that their chemistry seemed off on several occasions, for some strange reason, and instead of enjoying their scenes as they come, I kept worrying whether they would flow naturally or not. I never imagined I'd see the day I would be keenly aware of Paul Anthony Stewart and Joie Lenz "acting," when most of the time their interaction is so real, I have to remind myself these two are not an item in real life.

I wasn't tempted to rewind after the episodes were over, and I don't think I was imagining things, as I reached for the rewind button the moment the chocolate and San Cristobel episodes were over.

Does being happy preclude meaningful conversations, by the way? They have fought so hard to be together, as long as we have waited for them to be, but their conversations don't extend beyond how happy they are. The relationship's jumping from point A to point C to point E and what happens in between is left to our imaginations.

Now, circumstances are going to force them apart once again, when they have barely savored the joys of being together. Shouldn't we at least be given something to chew on before getting subjected to yet another separation?

Remember how excited we were when words got out that Manny would be renewing their vows and going on a honeymoon, how we anticipated what we thought would be a memorable summer of love? We're into mid-July and twiddling our thumbs. (I know when the board's in frenzy, bubbling with excitement and this ain't it.) TPTB are wasting away a golden opportunity and it's not easy for me to muster much enthusiasm for the rest of summer.

kristi, tired of waiting and making the best out of the crumbs we get