Like sands through the hourglass ... these are the "Days of Our Lives" ... soap operas in which we vicariously and emotionally engage ... until the end. Soaps often help people work on issues or feel not-so-alone when their characters deal with life and its challenges in contemporary situations.

We know soaps are not real - just projections on a screen - a mirror of our experiences in the illusion of time.

The days of our lives ... and what we believe is true reality ... are in fact fictitious.

If you feel connected to a character you will love them and hate them and all things in between.

Many soaps we once watched have been canceled or moved from broadcast TV to streaming platforms ... again mirroring the state of our reality as a streaming experience that swirls past our consciousness each day as we stop for just a millisecond in time to focus on whatever we are programmed to experience ... until we move on.

Victor and Maggie celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary -11.11.22

I've watched "Days" off and on for decades. Last week I saw John as favorite character Victor Kiriakos looking very frail yet delivering his lines to perfection. I wonder how the show will handle his passing? It doesn't seem that long ago the other master villain on "Days" - Stefano DiMera - played by Joseph Mascolo died.

As they tape well in advance he just might reappear on one of the upcoming episodes on Peacock = Rebirth, Resurrection, Phoenix - the Nickname for Stefano Dimero, John's Nemesis on "Days".