Chapter 2 DEBUT • My Guiding Light Memoirs • From Guiding Light Super Fan to Accidental Insider •

 When I got a job at CBS, next to Guiding Light's soundstage, I had no idea the star of the show already knew I was coming.

READ CHAPTER 1 HERE 
How Guiding Light Shaped My Childhood, Before Working Next Door

Working Next Door to Guiding Light

My lifelong dream of working for Guiding Light was closer to reality when I took a news writer job at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. 

I had been working on a reality show in Los Angeles where I pitched a new show starring Michelle Stafford, who plays Phyllis on The Young and the Restless. It didn't get picked up, so I took a news writing job at WCBS. 

I was very excited because the newsroom was in the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street. I knew Guiding Light's studio was in the building, but I had no clue where. 

My first-day jitters were raging as I walked through the revolving door into the lobby of the famed studios. I walked up to the front desk, where a kind receptionist directed me to my new newsroom. 

Kim Zimmer's Waiting for You

I started on a busy breaking news day. It meant my afternoon of training would be postponed until tomorrow while all of the writers focused on what was happening. In the meantime, I was instructed to watch and see how it's done. 

I was left alone, but that did not last long. One minute I was watching a newsroom in chaos, the next I was being dragged into the Guiding Light studio for the very first time, learning that Reva Shayne's alter ego was expecting me. 

My friend and longtime colleague Janet Starling was a brilliant on-air meteorologist. We had worked together before at NBC, where we discovered we both loved Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Janet Jackson. It's all we used to talk about. When she moved to WCBS from NBC, it wasn't long before I followed.

My first day, Janet spotted me logging in at my desk from across the newsroom and, without hesitation, ran over from the weather center. She was excited to see me.

Janet grabbed my arm and playfully pulled me up from my seat. "You are coming with me. I just saw Reva." And we were off.

As Janet dragged me across the newsroom, she noticed my bewilderment. 

"Kim knows you're here," Janet told me giddily. 

I cocked my head like a confused dog. I was trying to connect the mutual Kim that Janet and I both knew at CBS as we marched through the newsroom.

"Kim Zimmer," Janet clarified. 

I cocked my head the other direction, signaling Janet to continue.

"I told her that her biggest fan, you, would soon be working next door to Guiding Light. When I found out you got the writing job, I told Kim about you. We're weather buddies."

I was so confused. I was starting a new job, working next to the soap opera I'd watched since childhood, and the star of the show is expecting me? Janet quickly realized I was clueless.

"Guiding Light's soundstage is on the other side of our news set," Janet explained. "Its backstage is literally steps away, right around the corner."

In shock, I exhaled sharply.

Just then, we entered the WCBS news set. Bright lights flashed the words On Air as breaking news was still being reported. We passed a camera operator, and Janet asked him if he'd seen Kim.

"Is this the guy?" he asked in a thick New York accent while nodding in my direction.

"Yes, this is Dan. He's a huge Guiding Light fan," Janet said. "Daniel, he's also a camera operator for Guiding Light."

The camera operator smiled and nodded.

"Janet, these people are going to think I'm Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's Misery," I said wryly.

The camera operator chuckled and then shared some good intel, "Last time I saw Kim Zimmer, she was headed to the elevator. I think she's done for the day. Maybe you can catch her if you hurry?" 

"Thanks! Come on," Janet slipped off her heels, grabbed my arm again, and we hustled toward a black velvet stage curtain. 

"We need to run, or we're going to miss her."

"Run where?" I asked.

"Brace yourself," Janet warned. 

"Guiding Light is on the other side of this curtain."

Is this Heaven? No, It's The Guiding Light Soundstage 

We ran like school kids and pushed ourselves through the heavy, black curtain. It only took two seconds to pass through, but it felt like I was moving in slow motion. My heart was racing. 

My arm pushed the heavy stage curtain aside, and as I stepped sideways through it, my heart sank. I was filled with nervous energy, and I felt like an accidental stalker. When we came out on the other side, we were standing backstage of the classic soap opera Guiding Light. The show that got me out of nap time as a child. 

My show. My sister Peach's show. My mom's show. 

I went from being a ball of nerves as I began a new job in a New York City television newsroom, to being awe-struck because I was on the set of my favorite soap opera.

My eyes were wide as I slowly scanned backstage from left to right. The ceiling was high like a warehouse. There were carts filled with props, fake sunflowers filled dozens of vases, and a hallway that wouldn't quit. It stretched on and on.

I turned around and saw a thick, metal studio door, painted gray. The number 42 was painted in white. We must be in Studio 42, I thought.

Crew members were milling around, but it seemed like all the actors were gone. Janet pointed to the elevator just as the doors were closing with Reva inside.

"Darn it! Daniel, we just missed Kim Zimmer," Janet was bummed out. "I thought it would be such a kick for you to meet her on your first day here!"

"Welcome to Stage 42, by the way," Janet practically sang as she held her hands out at her shoulders and twirled.

"I was just talking to Kim. I knew you were starting today, and I told her about our new writer who is possibly Guiding Light's biggest fan," Janet chuckled. 

She knew I was embarrassed. She loved it. 

"What do you mean, you were just talking to her?" I asked. 

"I've been telling everyone at Guiding Light about you ever since I found out you were going to work with me again!"

"Are you friends with Kim Zimmer?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"Reva Shayne Lewis watches my weather forecasts!" Janet bragged. "I pop over here during my play time."

Janet explained that practically the entire Guiding Light staff watches our newscasts for the weather forecasts because the soap opera shoots much of the show outside in New Jersey now.

"Kim Zimmer is expecting me?!" I shrieked. "And the people who entertained me my whole life could possibly be watching the news I write? Janet. I can't believe this. Why did you have to embarrass me? Now I'm going to be ambushed by Kim Zimmer when I least expect it."

Janet exploded in laughter. "I know! I love it."

I joined in the laugh-fest and gave the soundstage another scan. "We can come back here anytime we want?"

"Yes," Janet held up her work badge. "If we have this on, we can be anywhere in this building."

Just then, a news producer came running up to us. They needed Janet to do a weather update during the breaking news. As she started walking away, she turned to me and slowly sang Hold Onto Love, Guiding Light's theme song from the 90s, while waving her work ID in front of her face. 

"Look around. Find Kim! She's probably still here. Tell me if you run into her; she's expecting you."

As Janet passed through that seemingly magical, black curtain, back into the newsroom, I could only think of one thing: Kim Zimmer is expecting me. Me!

I couldn't hide my smile. I was backstage at Guiding Light, knowing that this was my new workplace, and that Kim Zimmer was expecting me. I really felt like I had died and gone to heaven.

Alone now, I slowly spun around and took it all in. I imagined Peach, standing behind the sunflowers. 

"Ree-yuh-vuh," she said, followed by a hearty laugh that ended abruptly.

She corrected herself, "No, Ree-vuh. Daniel's friend." 

A loud bang snapped me out of my daydream. It was a crew coming out of one of the sets. 

I was curious, so I started walking toward that set. As I looked down at my lanyard, I could feel my face twisting into a devilish smirk. I felt like a sneaky soap villain, on my way to go change a paternity test. 

I held up my badge and took a closer look at my picture and thought, I work here, I can go where I want, as long as I have this. 

I walked up a set of stairs, and suddenly I was in the Spaulding Mansion.

Next Time: Chapter 3

I learn more than I expected when taking an impromptu Guiding Light set visit. Not only did I see the Spaulding Mansion up close, but I also learned something about Guiding Light that would change the show forever.

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Never Miss a Moment of the Guiding Light Memoir Project

I'm currently writing a memoir about growing up as a fan of Guiding Light and then working in the newsroom next door during its final years.
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Memoir Note

This memoir is based on my personal experiences. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Some dialogue has been reconstructed from memory.