Notice how the month of May began – two scenes featuring Evangeline Williamson with John McBain. No, they were not episode-long scenes, like so many we’ve been forced to watch lately with other characters. But they were scenes that showed us that the magic is still there between these two. That’s what pulled many of us back in.

Then came the switch-up. Bait and Switch, they call it. You know – when a store advertises a really low price on something and then you get there and that something is sold out but here’s something else just like it – for just a few dollars more.

Bait and Switch.

And that’s how May 2006 of OLTL began – baiting us with Evangeline and John and then switching to John and Natalie and Evangeline and Cristian, aka going from the sublime to the ridiculous. Yawn! Trouble is that too many of us are buying into it. Instead of holding out for what we actually want, some of us are being pacified by what we’re getting – even temporarily. But there’s one problem with that. The minute that we viewers simply accept what OLTL is throwing at us is when they’ve got us where they want us – stuck.

Too many of us meekly accepted John McBain with Natalie because “Michael-Easton's-fanbase-would-take-care-of-him-and-so-he-doesn't-need-any-help”. Remember that cry? Well, look where it ended up. Yes, he does have a huge fanbase. But that fact alone wasn't enough to keep Higley from destroying the character it took him two years to begin to build, was it? Look at where Higley's version of John McBain is right now. Is it where you wanted to see this character go? Is this where you wanted to see his story take him? Probably not but too many of us buying into it without a word of protest is what got him here.

Too many of us are now willing to accept Evangeline with Cristian because “at-least-she's-smiling-now-and-as-long-as-he-drops-his-caveman-attitude-it’ll-be-fine-for-now-as-long-as-she’s-happy”. Smiling is all well and good but is this really the storyline that we want to see - Evangeline Williamson and Cristian Vega? Is this really the Evangeline that we all fell in love with or is this just Higley's version of an Evangeline that she can pair with the completely dull Cristian? And make no mistake. It will only get worse as Evangeline is written more and more like Cristian and Natalie and less and less like the adult female professional she's been for the past few years. And don't forget. This is a soap. "Smiling" and "happiness" often equal backburner. Too many people buying into this version of Evangeline will be what gets us there.

If it was the unbreakable bond between John McBain and Evangeline Williamson that brought us to OLTL, I can't imagine that any of the above will be what keeps us with OLTL. So we need to remain focused in demanding what we want to see.

But at the very least everyone who wants more should go on record as not buying into the hype of the quad or whatever leg of the tri Higley's trying to sell this week, whether it be John/Evangeline/Natalie OR John/Cristian/Natalie OR John/Evangeline/Cristian OR Evangeline/Cristian/Natalie. It's stupid. It’s repetitive. It’s overdone. It’s unimaginative. It’s lazy. It’s dull. It’s a criminal waste of the talents of Michael Easton and Renee Elise Goldsberry. Worst of all, it's an insult to the year of dedicated and heartfelt work they both put into telling the John and Evangeline story with as much honesty and integrity as they could. It’s also an insult to the many OLTL viewers who connected with that story and their two characters as a result.

We need to make sure to let ABC Daytime in general and OLTL in particular know that, for many of us, it's just not good enough - period, end-of-story. Change is truly the only constant. Things can and do change all the time. And with virtually every character having been de-constructed, virtually every favorite couple torn apart while pairings that hold no interest keep popping up, with no resolution to storylines that seem to have gone on forever, with new characters appearing suddenly, taking center stage while much loved characters are scattered and infrequently used as filler or, worse yet, written into months-long comas, change is something that definitely needs to happen at OLTL. Without a doubt!

Give me characters I can care about with motivations that don’t insult my intelligence. Give me storylines that pull me in. Give me couples that spark my imagination. Give me action. Give me romance. Give me a day’s episode that has at least a nodding acquaintance with the one from the day before. Give me more reasons to watch besides the fact that I happen to be a staunch supporter of two of the actors currently under contract.

Change what is! Fix what’s broken!

Because I, for one, CANNOT and WILL NOT let ABC Daytime and OLTL off the hook.

My letters are already in the mail!