Perms, proms and palomino ponies

It’s hard to believe that Guiding Light’s Four Musketeers – Phillip, Rick, Beth and Mindy – are heading to their high school reunion – 25 years on. New viewers may not get what the fuss was all about. But anyone who watched the show when these four were front and center remembers how special these characters and this story was.

And these characters care about each other so much, so deeply, that their messy relationships still play out on the show today. 

I’m mentioning all of this, of course, because these four will be reuniting on screen next week. Krista Tesreau, the original Mindy, will return for the reunion, which begins March 6. 

It’s the first time she’s been back in town since Phillip “died” and she attended his “funeral”. Hopefully Mindy will also be saying hi to her daddy and her beloved stepmom Vanessa. 

When I was in high school, Guiding Light was THE show that everyone watched. I had to track down my school’s yearbook from 1986 – my junior year -to show you the results of the senior survey for favorite TV show.

Pretty impressive ranking, right? I mean, it’s right up there with Cliff Huxtable’s sweaters! 

I attended prom, too, also as a junior in 1986. I remember it all being a sea of perms (for the girls), high hair (on me, when I used to have hair!) and some really schmaltzy songs (the worst being Almost Paradise).

I was more of a new wave kid, so if we had to slow dance, I preferred Spandau Ballet’s True. And there’s David Bowie’s Let’s Dance, one of the songs Guiding Light played at the Four Musketeers’ prom. 

My prom was almost as dramatic. My prom date, the new girl in school, was definitely pretty in pink, and she and I had a great time. But she ended up leaving early to meet her out-of-state, much-older boyfriend who she hadn’t seen since she’d moved. All very soapy!

I thought it would be lighthearted and fun for my readers to take a stroll down memory lane. So over the next week, I’d love to hear from you all about your memories – of your own high school days, prom and graduation, and memories of the Four Musketeers. What songs did they play at your prom? 

Also, if you’ve gone to a high school reunion – a la the High School Reunion reality show – I’d love to hear what your reaction was.

How have you changed?

Have your classmates changed?

Did anyone in your class sleep with her first love’s best friend and father? (Hey, it happens. Beth Raines is excellent at multitasking and networking!)

I’ll be picking a response at random as a winner to receive a cool reunion-related prize. (Sorry, no copies of Zanzibar – I think that went out of print a long, long time ago.)

And if you’re on Twitter, you can follow Mindy – aka Daddy’s Little Princess – here. Of course, if you’re on Twitter, you can also chat with me here.

And here’s a great clip from the original prom: