VINCENT SPEAKS

Now, on a much more personal note, I want to extend my special thanks to each and every one of you as members of FOVI, for the years of faithful support of not only me, my work, and the show, but also most importantly, the many charities we have come together to aid. You have enabled us to reach out to people who have been in real need, who have in turn, benefited immeasurably by your generosity, compassion, financial and volunteer support. When we began FOVI, I believe somewhere over 10 years ago, it was almost as if it was an experiment, none of us knowing how it might turn out or if it would be successful. We were committed to form something that would not be like other “fan clubs,” namely about fan support of me. Instead, we sought to comprise a group of those who were appreciative of my work, coming together to give of their time, treasure, and hearts toward charitable organizations that touched both theirs and mine. As a result, during these many years, we have raised over $100,000 for numerous charities, including offering ourselves as volunteers for some of those same organizations. The fact is, although my name is attached to FOVI, our successes have been in much greater part the result of you, the “Friends Of,” rather than me. I can’t honestly put into words how honored I am to be associated with each of you throughout these many years and very successful endeavors.

Hello my dear, dear Fovi-ites, friends, and faithful soap viewers! This is my annual January 9^th letter wishing you all well for the past holidays, for the coming New Year and to express my limitless gratitude for your tireless support!! What’s that? You don’t ever remember getting a letter from me on January 9^th?!

OK. It’s obvious, I’m not fooling anyone. Yes, I admit, I’m quite a bit late in writing the traditional letter I’ve written each year, but it certainly wasn’t from a lack of desire. My schedule has been so tight for several months, (which is a good thing), and as the holidays approached, it got even more overwhelmed with commitments and the usual holiday plans, that every time I had scheduled in my mind to find the time on any given day to sit down and write it, I would be spent by day’s end and incapable of fashioning more than a few short sentences together. Regardless of the reasons, I am sorry it has taken me this long to write to all of you. I would have liked to do so earlier, as I had intended.

But, I must say, most of this holiday time was very well spent with my family given the fact that we were deprived of sharing a holiday together last year while I was on Y & R. Because of the Writer’s Guild strike, we weren’t given a holiday break last year on that show. Therefore, I left my family on Christmas day to fly back to LA to be at work on the 26^th of December. That was a painfully difficult thing to have to do – seeing my kids and wife open their gifts, put in a few batteries, then get in a car to go the airport! Not exactly my idea of enjoying the special holiday together, especially one that should be spent with those you love.

Well, it’s a new year indeed, and I don’t have to be apart from them during those special days any longer. Even better, I don’t have to leave them to travel across a continent each week, (sometimes several times during a week), any longer, since my somewhat new gig is just 15 miles away from my home and family. Much, much, much to be grateful for!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I was very grateful to have had the job during my time away from AMC and we did make it work as best we could, but given the choice, this would have to be viewed by us all as optimum, to say the least. Nothing beats the quality time I now get to spend with my family, sometimes even sharing in the seemingly menial daily routines that one does with family. I love doing homework with them, or helping them as they learn how to read and write – I get to celebrate in their growth and accomplishments daily. Even sharing in family movies with them is a joy, although it can sometimes be a bit challenging, (Marley & Me is really quite entertaining, while Beverly Hills Chihuahua was painfully annoying, JMO). I’m even actively involved with my youngest son, Elias, in his Cub Scouts’ gatherings. Trust me – never saw that one coming! (We recently slept overnight on the Battleship New Jersey which is now docked in Camden , NJ , right across the river from Philadelphia . You don’t know what a sleepless night is until you try to sleep on the genuine naval bunks of a ship like this with 100 other scouts and their parents, all encased below decks with you, above and around you like a bunch of sardines, while hot air is loudly being pumped down upon you from vents right above. Trust me, when we were awakened to the sprite sounds of Reveille at 7:15 AM , I don’t believe there was even one person who could say they had a restful sleep! But, all said, the experience was fantastic. I highly recommend it to any parent).

It really was a blessed holiday for us as a family, having spent half of it here in NJ/NYC and the other in Florida . We got to see the Rockefeller Center tree, walked around NYC – down 5^th Avenue and through Bryant Park where they set up an outdoor ice skating rink, and also got to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of my favorite places to go to in the entire world, where the kids loved the impressionist paintings, Rodin sculptures, and the Roman, Egyptian, and Greek antiquities. There really is no place like NYC during the holidays. If you’ve been here during that time, you know what I mean.

As I said, we also got to go to Florida during the break where the weather couldn’t have been better – mid 70’s and clear skies throughout our time there – spent the days swimming and enjoying beautiful sunsets. It was a very relaxing and much needed change of pace from the past year’s challenges and demands. We were all refreshed and made ready to face the coming year.

Regarding AMC and the re-emergence of Dr. David as Pine Valley ’s much loved/hated resident, I hope you’re all enjoying him as much as I have been playing him. Personally, I feel Chuck Pratt and the rest of the writing team has given him new and greater depths for me to chart and explore, for which I’m very grateful. He’s kind of like the Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights of Pine Valley, living there in his gothic mansion on the hill, looking down upon the not-so-good people of Pine Valley – not a bad thing to have to play. It’s also been a joy to work opposite my many talented cast mates once again, even if I am usually tormenting them. But please, don’t feel too sorry for them. There’s a little bit of David in all of them, and in quite a few of them, more than they’d like to admit…

I hope you all had a blessed holiday, whichever one you might celebrate in, and that you and your families are all well and happy. I feel, as I shared to some degree with this letter, that most times it’s the simple joys and pleasures of life with family/friends that enriches our lives most, giving them their finest substance and dearest meaning. I know this is a very difficult time for many of us while our country seems to be poised for either greatness or greater hardship. It’s difficult to know which tomorrow to put our trust and confidence in. I feel no different than any of you in this, believe me. Thankfully, we still have our way of life as a people, our national identity, which is precious beyond compare and very much worth preserving and celebrating in. We can be grateful further that there are men and women who are giving tirelessly of themselves each and every day, sometimes to the point of the ultimate sacrifice, to insure for us this way of life while protecting us. And we can be especially grateful for the support of those around us who affirm our value, sometimes in the most simple ways and gestures of kindness, like so many of you have toward me for so many years.

I look forward to being on your TV sets once again this coming year while hoping to bring to you the joy and satisfaction you’ve given me in support throughout the passing decades. I do thank you all for your kind expressions of such and for joining me on this journey throughout my many characters/shows over the years. To say you’ve lifted me up countless times is an understatement for certain.