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L&L Brigade Newsletter April 4, 1999

Brigaders!

Are you having a good Holiday weekend? I hope you are all on a nice chocolate high right about now. I thought about starting this week's newsletter with a little April Fools joke, but I think we all got enough of that last Thursday. How many of you saw the gag posted around the Internet saying JJ had decided to sign a new three year contract after all? You must admit, it was written very convincingly. Too bad it couldn't be true.

GOING AWAY GIFT FOR JJ: I continue to refuse to call this a good-bye gift because that implies he will never come back. I'm keeping the faith that L&L will still ride off into the sunset and spend the rest of their lives together. However, since JJ is going away, for now, to tackle some new challenges, we want to send him something to let him know our support goes with him and we are grateful for all he has already done on GH. The officers and I have been talking about something that is more about HIM, and less about the show. You've got to admit he must have closets full of GH memorabilia and letters from fans. I was thinking about an engraving he could hang on the wall or put on a desk - something small, simple and "keepable." I would like to suggest this as the inscription:

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Php. 3:13-14

Thank you for all you have given us.
Our love and support go with you into the future.
The L&L Brigade

I have to confess this is one of my favorite verses. My mom gave it to me when I went away to school. It's not really about "forgetting" the past, but keeping your eye on the bigger goals of life. Anyway, that verse just won't leave my mind when I think about JJ and I think I can see him really appreciating it. He's got to feel, on one level, like he is letting people down by leaving. I just want him to know he's not getting a guilt trip from us. Right? I want this to be something that everyone is comfortable with, though. If there are any of you who have a real problem with this, PLEASE let me know. I don't want to offend or push anyone. If I don't get any negative reactions in the next few days, though, I'm going to assume I have all of your blessings. I am willing to get this made and deliver it to the set like I did with the wreaths. I think we should get right on it, though, so he can receive it before his last taping day. I've done some research, and it should cost us about $50. There is no need for anyone to be burdened to contribute a lot. I've already asked a lot from you guys this year. Did you know, though, that we now have 150 members!!! If only 1/3 of you would simply stick a dollar or two in an envelope and mail it to the Brigade PO Box, we would be covered. I think it would be special if as many of us as possible were a part of this gift. So, I really would rather see a lot of small donations than large ones from just a few, but I'll leave that up to all of you.

REMEMBERING BECKY: Along with our good wishes to JJ, we want to make sure Becky knows we aren't going anywhere and won't be forgetting her. I still have a bunch of things that were left over from the wreaths, included several one-eared "Boris" bears. You guys sent so many I couldn't use them all J. So, I will put together something cute to give her along with a card expressing our support. I'm not sure exactly what it will be, but a long trip to the craft store should take care of that. I'll take it to the studio at the same time I deliver JJ's gift, hopefully by the last week in April.

BROWNIES FOR TYLER: There was an email on the JJ-aholics mailing list that several Brigaders forwarded to me. One of their members got to meet JJ at a DEOTO party, and you won't believe what he said! I know a lot of you have seen this already, but I will post it here for those who haven't, (I did email the original author of this, btw):

~~"My sister did the advertising for DEOTO and she took me to one of the parties when it premiered. He was great. Totally sexier in person, if that's possible. He was quite generous with his time. We talked about the movie a little, about Michelle cutting his scenes. Couldn't get too much out of him at that time about him leaving. He just said that it would be late spring and that longtime GH fans would be intrigued by one of the possibilities. So, of course, I think it's Faison! I told him how often I come online to read stuff and how often he is mentioned. He asked if I was an L&L Brigader. I said no, but that I knew many of them. He said that he gets more gifts from them...and that Tony and Tyler call him "little stud" because he gets more fan things than anyone at the studio. He said that Tyler is always stealing his food that people send in! Anyway, that's about it. Definitely a night I will never forget."~~

LOL! One of the first thing he asked is whether she was a Brigader! I think we are giving him quite a reputation around the studio. I thought the part about Tyler eating all the treats we send him was pretty funny too. So, we decided to send Tyler a basket of brownies of his very own! I hope that all of you agree with this decision. There wasn't a lot of time to wait for everyone's reactions because we wanted to make sure Jonathan would also be at the Studio when they were delivered. Thanks to Capt. LL1998 for taking care of this for us. The brownies weren't too expensive, but if anyone would like to help her out you can send a contribution He should get his basket of brownies Monday or Tuesday with this note:

Tyler,

We've heard a rumor that you like to "help" Jonathan and Becky eat the treats we've sent them, so we thought we'd send you some of your very own. Don't worry, you won't go hungry after Jonathan is gone.

Enjoy!
The L&L Brigade

RAINN FUNDRAISER: There is still time to place orders for an L&L mouse pad. As you all know, they will be royal blue with the phrase "Liz and Lucky...Everything about you is the best, the best there is". They are $10 a piece and approximately $4 going to RAINN. The donation will be a birthday gift from the Brigade to JJ and Becky for their birthdays on May 11 and 12th. If we are going to be able to get them made, though, we will still need a lot more orders by the 15th. However, if you feel you can't pay the whole $10 for the mouse pad but still want to contribute, any donation would be very appreciated. Please email Cpt. LL1998 if you would like to order a mouse pad or make a donation. All orders and money must be received by April 15th. This could be the last chance for the Brigade to do a project like this in JJ's name, so if you want to do your part ...now is the time. Also, those of you who have ordered a mouse pad but haven't sent your money, the deadline is approaching so please send your money ASAP. Thanks!

EMMY NEWS: Thanks to Pvt. Lidia for passing on this email from ABCTim regarding the upcoming Daytime Emmys in NYC:

~~"I've been told that (tickets) will go on sale sometime after April 20. You might want to check the Ticket Master website at www.ticketmaster.com (or call 212-307-3171) around that time. They sold tickets last year and I think they will be doing so again. It's also a good idea to call Madison Square Garden directly.--Tim"~~

Madison Square Garden's url is www.thegarden.com It would helped me out a lot if those of you who are still seriously planning to attend would send me an email, even if you've sent me one before. I'm trying to get a finalized list to help all you lucky people going. Thanks!

QUESTIONS FOR JJ: The featured guest for this week's Soaps In Depth "Ask the Stars" forum is our own JJ! You can send in questions for him now through next Thursday, April 8th. Some of them will even appear in the magazine, so you might want to mention you are part of the L&L Brigade. Go to http://go.compuserve.com/SoapsInDepth OR: http://forumsa.compuserve.com/gvforums/default.asp?SRV=SoapsInDepth You can also email questions to HollywoodHotline@compuserve.com, but be sure to specify they are questions for JJ as part of the forum. Thanks to Pvt. Mel for getting all this information for us.

GOD'S CANDY REVIEW: As I mentioned before, "God's Candy," JJ's new CD with his band, Scarlet Road, will be available from Soundtracks and Amazon on April 30. I listed the track titles for you below. Those of you who saw the concert at SSW3, live or on video, will recognize some of the new songs he sang there. Also, check out the album description. Very interesting :)

Track Listings

~~"Album Description
Scarlet Road's second album God Candy combines four decades of rock and two generations of brothers. Actors Jonathan and Richard Lee Jackson wrote the music and lyrics and recorded the 16 song album at Soundtracks in Washington State. The songs are written about the struggle between the beauty of women and the glory of God. BAND_MEMBERS: Jonathan Jackson, Richard Jackson, Gary Jackson, Rick Jackson~~"

MAURICE ON ROSIE: Well, we still haven't gotten Rosie to have JJ and Becky as guests on her show. However, on Monday the 5th Maurice Benard (Sonny) will be on. I wonder if he'll make any comment on JJ's leaving. After all, he left GH and then came back…

It looks like next week is a BIG week for L&L. I've loved all the discussions and friendly debates surrounding the upcoming scoops. That's what makes this group so special. There should be more to talk about in the coming days, and I can't wait to read all of your opinions.

Have a good week!
|_ _| Commander Boo

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L&L Brigade Newsletter April 11, 1999

Brigaders,

A lot of what I have to say this week centers on the new scoops. In case there are some of you who do not want to know what's going to happen ahead of time I will cover all the basic Brigade business first and leave a "spoiler barrier" before I give anything away. However, if you don't read the whole newsletter right now, I hope that you will save it to read after Friday's show so that you don't miss out on anything.

L&L SCRIPTS AT EBAY: I wanted to let you all know that I am selling copies of the scripts to last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday's episodes of GH on Ebay. This is probably the last time I'll mention an ebay auction in the newsletter, but since there was so much good L&L stuff in those particular scripts I wanted to make sure you guys didn't miss out. The set of three is marked as item #88856648, or go to www.ebay.com and search General Hospital. I titled the item "LUCKY AND LIZ FANS!"

WIN A TRIP TO THE EMMYS: Want to go to the Daytime Emmys to cheer JJ & Becky on? Me too, but I don't have the money for a trip to NYC. Anyone have the same problems? Well, one of us might get Lucky (pun intended). There is a contest to win a trip to the Emmys with all the perks! Check it out at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/4058/ It only make sense that a Brigader win this since Brigaders are the best fans! So, everyone give it a shot! Thanks to Pvt. TJTiggler for bringing this to our attention.

R.A.I.N.N. FUNDRAISER: There are only a few more days left to order L&L mousepads. We must have all orders by the 15th. So, if you still want to get one then you must at least email Capt. LL1998 by Thursday. I really want to have enough orders to do this, especially now that JJ is leaving, so if you are still trying to make up you mind I hope that you will decide to get one. Keep in mind, though, that even if we don't get the 100 orders we need to have them made, we will still be making a donation to R.A.I.N.N. and you can always contribute to that. Thank you to everyone who has already helped so much with this.

JJ'S GOING AWAY GIFT: I'm still refusing to call it a "good-bye" gift. Thank you to everyone who so very promptly sent contributions for the engraving for JJ! I am very close to having enough money to order it. Also, I really appreciate all the emails you sent telling me how much you liked the gift idea. It was really important to me to know that you all felt the same way about it as I did, so thank you. Once again, this is what it will say:

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Php. 3:13-14

Thank you for all you have given us.
Our love and support go with you into the future.
The L&L Brigade

BECKY'S GIFT: As I mentioned last week, we want to send Becky a little something to let her know that we continue to love and support her on GH as well. We really need to be sure to remember her in the next few months. She's always worked with a partner on the show and it must be very strange to go at it solo now. It took me three craft stores to get inspiration for her gift :) but I finally did. I used one of the left over "Boris" bears from the wreaths and some other stuff, but it would be too hard to explain exactly what the gift looks like. I will get a picture of it up at HQ as soon as both gifts are finished.

SOAPFAN MAGAZINE: This is very exciting for me! For a long time I've wanted to do an online magazines dedicated to all of us GH fans. I love writing the articles for the newsletter and helping all of you share your stories. It only makes sense to open this up to all GH fans so, I've started SoapFan Magazine! Even though this isn't a Brigade project, I hope you guys will all be a part of it. After all, you were my inspiration! So, please check it out! Please let me know what you think! And please be my eyes and ears for new stories! Thanks!

https://www.angelfire.com/or/soapfanmag

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*SPOILER BARRIER!
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*DON'T READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW
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UPCOMING TRAGEDY: If you haven't read the detailed scoops for the next two weeks, they are posted below. This is going to be such a very sad time for all of us. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find a knot in my stomach at all different times of the day. This isn't what any of us wanted, but let's all remember that this is a soap and that anything can happen. I, for one, intend to keep the faith that L&L WILL live forever! That doesn't change the fact that the next few weeks are going to be very hard to watch. I'm so grateful for the Brigade right now because I know that none of you will have to go through this without a friend who knows exactly how you feel. Don't you hate it when people say, "Get a grip, it's not like a real person died!"?! I hope that all the regiments will schedule chats often. I plan to be in the Yahoo room on next Saturday at 9 pst/noon est to discuss Friday's show. If anyone doesn't have an email buddy to share this with, let me know. I'm serious! I don't want any Brigaders going through this alone :) Next Monday's show is going to be one of the hardest, I think. I intend to wear black that day. You can laugh at me if you want, but I know some of you are doing the same. It's not a Brigade "requirement" or anything, but it's going to help me to think of all of you feeling the same sadness as me. Knowing some of you are dressed in black too is just another way to know we are in this together.

KEEP THE FAITH: I'm not looking forward to mourning Lucky. I'm really not looking forward to watching Liz, Luke, and everyone else in P.C. mourn him. Here is my trick, though, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Whenever it gets too sad to bare, I just tell myself that no one really dies on a soap. It's true! Anyone can come back from the dead... any number of times. As long as I believe he isn't really dead and that, someday, he will come back to Liz I can keep the sadness under control. JJ has expressed in many different ways that he isn't "overjoyed" with how the L&L story is ending and that he wishes the characters could be written off together. He has also said he wants an opening left for him to come back. I have a feeling that the boy is going to take Hollywood by such a storm that he won't return to daytime as a career (although I thought the same thing about Maurice Benard). However, given how much JJ has invested in the character and how sensitive he is to the fans, I can easily see him returning for a limited time at some point, if/when Becky's contract is up, so that the L&L can be written off together. What the Brigade needs to do is to make certain JJ, Becky, and TPTB are reminded, OFTEN, that we are still here, watching GH because we are waiting for that very thing! Of course, we will want to do this is such a way that we don't seem unsupportive of the other projects JJ decides to do or the other work Becky is doing on GH. The new mission of the Brigade, though, is to remember the greatest love story ever in history and to KEEP L&L ALIVE!

|_ _| Commander Boo

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SCOOPS: The next two weeks are going to be so hard to watch. These scoops give away a lot, so make sure you want to know pretty much everything before you read them.

PART OF THE ARTICLE FROM SOD: On Tuesday, the half brothers bond even further as Lucky invites Nikolas to a small dinner party he and Liz are throwing at Kelly's later in the week, and shares what happened (or rather, didn't happen) in New York. The next day, Lucky attempts to make Bobbie better understand the importance of the father/son bond. "It sort of resonates his own situation with Luke," notes Guza. "He had a conversation with Tony, and out of that he says to Bobbie, ‘Look what happened to me and Dad. Don't let that happen to Tony and Lucas.' It's really kind of nice." Though touched by Lucky's concern, Bobbie opts to Tony's time with Lucas. The theme of family relations continues into the Spencer home on Thursday when Laura comes down to find Nikolas and Lucky playing with Lulu. "It's like a dream come true to Laura," smiles her portrayer, Genie Francis, of the rapport between her sons. "It's a huge, absolutely huge/ {It's} something that really seemed impossible, but Lucky surprises her with big hear and his maturity." Even more so when Lucky makes clear to his mom that he never stopped loving her throughout their recent crisis. And presents her with a painting done by Liz. Following that visit, Nikolas and Lucky head over to Kelly's for their special dinner for four with Liz and Emily. "It's very sweet," says Guza. "It's really just kids bonding and talking about their future." Afterward, Nikolas heads to Laura's home to baby-sit Lulu so Laura can go to Wyndemere for supper, while Liz and Lucky clean up at Kelly's. Just then, Luke happens by the diner, so Lucky invites his father in and they wind up sharing a heart felt bonding moment similar to the one Lucky enjoyed earlier in the day with Laura. "This means everything to Like at this point," relates his portrayer, Anthony Geary, "because he's lost his foundation, which is his marriage, which is on the rocks at the moment. Lucky's always been Luke's hero, so to be able to mend fences with him at a time like this ... Luke's in desperate need of feeling relevant, and Lucky does that for him so {this visit} is very important." Laura arrives at Whyndemere and delightedly reports to Stefan about the harmonious relations between her children. Stefan, hoping to make Laura even happier, surprises her with an offer to take her to Paris next week. Completely unaware of this fact, Luke make his way to the Specer house for a visit with Lulu. Once there, Baby-sitter Nikolas graciously heads upstairs so Luke can enjoy some private time with her daughter. Meanwhile, Lucky, who's now at home in his room over the motorcycle shop, calls Liz at Audrey's house to wish her sweet dreams before they both heard for their respective beds. "This is the happiest time in Liz's life.", beams Herbst. "She has goals and things she want to do in her life now, and somebody to share them with." Naturally, sleep comes easily to the teen. "She has a very idyllic dream about her and Lucky dancing," reports Guza. If all this sounds too good to be true .... well it is. Liz's dreams is interrupted. "The sound of sirens breaks into her dream," continues Guza, causing Liz to wake up "with a vague sense of uneasiness. It's almost like she has a very vague premonition of something ..like the other shoe is about to drop. And then she goes back to sleep." It might be the last good night's sleep Liz had for some time. "Something happened that fundamentally changes the lives of probably a dozen characters on the canvas." previews Guza. "It's another one of those beats that we do like the shootout at Luke's ... incidents that take four or five different storied in 180-degree turns. What happens," promises the scribe, "will fundamentally alter the lives of core characters in a dramatic way."

WEEK OF APRIL 19-23: (I'm not sure who was the first to bring the following scoops to our attention, but thank you to everyone who passed them on)
*SCOOPS*.Liz is terrified by the sirens and rushes to find Lucky's apartment in flames. Liz is devastated when Taggert informs her that Lucky was trapped and did not survive the fire. Bobbie tries to comfort Liz while Luke is informed of his son's death by Nikolas.Taggert blames Jason and Sonny for the mob undertone of the fire, while a heartbroken Luke breaks the news to Laura that their son is dead. Luke comforts Laura over Lucky's death and they go to identify his body together. A heartsick Laura blasts Sonny,Jason, and Luke accusing them of murdering her son. Liz finally releases and returns one of Lucky's cherished possessions to Taggert. Nikolas faces-off with Stefan and encourages him to leave the Spencer house before Laura returns. Sonny and Jason surprise Taggert by vowing to help the police discover who set the fire by taking responsibility for Lucky's death. A grief-stricken Luke remembers Lucky and finally breaks down in Bobbies arms.Emily is shattered by the news of Lucky's death. Jason prevents Carly from confronting AJ after she hears the news about Lucky and believes AJ started the fire. Sonny hints to Luke that Moreno may not have started the fire that killed Lucky. Nikolas finally breaks through to Liz and helps her express her grief over Lucky's death. Luke blasts Sonny and admits he hopes Lucky's death will haunt him for the rest of his life. Emily panics when she discovers that Lucky's funeral is set to take place in the church where Lucky and Liz spent Valentine's Day. After visiting Laura, Liz agrees to her plans for Lucky's funeral. Nikolas refuses to speak at Lucky's funeral in differences with Luke.Port Charles mourns the death of Lucky Spencer as Luke,Laura,and Liz offer touching tributes to their lost loved one. After the funeral, Lesley encourages Laura reach out to Luke. But Laura is later terrified when she discovers Luke in Tammy's arms. Hannah attempts to comfort Sonny as he continues to blame himself for Lucky's demise. Carly is sad of the fact that she never got to know Lucky or Ruby, and she and Bobbie admit they love each other. Alone in the church, Liz breaks down over the loss of Lucky

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L&L Brigade Newsletter April 18, 1999

Brigaders,

Whether you knew what was going to happen or you had somehow managed to stay scoop free, Friday was a horribly sad day for all of us. I thought I was prepared and I even made it through Lucky and Luke's good-bye scene with dry eyes. When Lucky and Liz said their final good-bye at their window, though, and I got my long awaited "window kiss," I broke down. The final montage of their dances, with that all-too-familiar music being stopped by the siren, was my complete undoing. I don't mind telling you, I sobbed until I gave myself a head ache. Then I watched it again and sobbed until my stomach hurt. I know a lot of you probably reacted the same way. And why shouldn't you? We've felt every kind of emotion with L&L over the past 14 months. Of course we are going to feel grief for them as well. We know that their story and their characters aren't real, but the emotions they make us feel are. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. We've all had our days when we knew L&L were going to be on and all we could think about was getting through whatever was on our schedule so we could rush home and watch them. Now we have those days where every few minutes we remember what's happened, or what's going to happen, and our stomach knots up and our eyes water. That's OK, it's all part of being a true fan. We get to experience everything, the good and bad, to the fullest. Those people who may sneer at you for that don't have any idea what they've missed out on. They won't understand, so don't even try to make them. Just go ahead and feel sad. Go ahead and grieve.

WINDOW KISS: I can't resist, guys, I have to say something about this. In spite of the sadness on Friday, there was a bright spot. I got my window kiss!!! For those of you who may not have been around as long, my obsession with this window kiss started last July. It actually proceeded the Brigade! I said I was waiting for a window kiss to be my keepership, so I eventually became "Keeper of the Future Window Kiss." I can't even remember how many threads we've had about this wished for event. There was one recently wondering if we'd ever get it now that JJ was leaving. Well, we have all realized for some time that TPTB read our posts. Liz's charm bracelet, the boys photo with LuLu, Lucky's portrait, these were all things Brigaders first demanded online and TPTB eventually provided. I am convinced TPTB purposely waited until now to give me my window kiss. I've harped on it so very long, and it was nice of them to give it to me in such a special way. So, in spite of my sadness, I have to say "Thank You!" (BTW, you wouldn't believe how many messages I had Friday saying, "Boo, you got it! You finally got!").

NEW MISSION: The new mission for the Brigade is very simple. We must make sure TPTB stay true to L&L. We need to let them know that we aren't going anywhere. We will all be faithfully watching in hopes of Lucky's return. In the meantime, we will be keeping close tabs on how they handle Liz's character and what groundwork is being laid for future storylines. You all know the kind of stuff I'm talking about. If they even think we'd tolerate a story where Lucky comes back to find Liz hooked up with Nik, they just don't know who they are dealing with! :) Along this line, I've noticed that many of you have starting to sign your salutes "|_ _| FOREVER." I love that! I'd like to give credit to whoever started it, but I imagine it was just one of those things that developed. That's what we're about now, guys, keeping that statement true. Regardless of what JJ does in his career, because we support him either way, TPTB must stay true to how THEY'VE created our L&L.

ABC BOARDS: The L&L board at ABC is where this Brigade began. When they put the new boards up, L&L were the only couple given their own discussion. We need to keep it that way. We cannot let TPTB take down our ABC L&L Board. I know that the new boards are very hard to use and for that reason I haven't been posting there much. We all need to make an effort to do so, though. I suggest that we try to stick to a few Brigader threads and that we reply at the bottom of the last post in that main thread. Maybe we'll be able to keep track of each other and the discussion that way. I intend to try to post at least once a day, just to let TPTB know how they are doing. I hope you will all do the same. We've got to make sure they know we are still around.

LETTER CAMPAIGN: I guess great minds think alike, because I got several emails this week suggesting a similar project involving letters to TPTB. Combining everyone's ideas, here's what we're going to do. I'd like each of us to write a SHORT letter to TPTB. Thank them for the L&L story.... so far. I also intend to thank them for the window kiss since we've all been waiting forever for it! If you'd like, give a brief explanation of why L&L are so special to you or what their story has meant to you. Make sure they know you will be continuing to watch GH for Liz and in hopes that Lucky will somehow still come back to her. And, most importantly, let them know you are going to be making sure they stay true to their story. If you'd like to add something about not tolerating a recast or a Liz and Nik pairing, go for it! But that, of course, can stay an individual choice. I really hope that each and every one of you will participate in this. Remember, the mission goal is VOLUME! Pvt. jnelmom was the first to present this idea and will be helping me with it. Thanks Mel! Here's what I'd like each of you to do:

1) Keep your letters short! They probably won't read past half a page, if that, so put the most important stuff up front.

2) Sign your name or screen name, location (just state if you want), and L&L Brigade. You don't have to explain what the Brigade is, they all know us by now :) Letters can be typed, but I think it will have a better affect if your name is signed in pen. It won't look like someone just mass produced them.

3) Mail your letters to the Brigade box.

4) If you just don't have time to send a letter, or you forget until the last minute, you can do it by email. Write the letter just as you want TPTB to see it, and email it to Mel. She will put them in letter form, print them out, and mail them to me. She will need to receive your emailed letters by Wednesday night!!!

I will gather all the letters up, hopefully close to 160 since that's our membership now, and put them together with a cover letter. Then I'll deliver the whole bundle to the Studio when I take JJ and Becky's gift. It's been suggested that I take some hot pretzels to deliver with the letters, so I'll see what I can do. We want to do this next week, so please don't put it off. Remember, the goal is volume of letters! Please just write something short and sweet and put it in the mail tomorrow, or email it to Mel on your lunch break or something. Let's let TPTB know that the Brigade isn't going anywhere, so they'd better watch their steps! Thanks!

GOING AWAY GIFTS: Still not calling them "good-bye" gifts! Thank you to every one who contributed, and I'm pleased to say it was a lot of you. In fact, it turned out just as I had hoped. A lot of small donations went towards something big. I love seeing us all pull together like that :) As I told you last week, I finished Becky's gift with the "Boris" bear. I ordered JJ's gift this week. It was slightly different, but I think you'll be pleased. Rather than doing a plain plaque, I had the engraving put on a small, brass clock. The clock is 6" X 6" with a rounded top. The engraving will appear below the face. It's small enough that it won't be difficult to find a place to put it. Also, since we are speaking of the future and the past, I thought a clock representing time went very well. I hope you all agree. Thank you very much to Pvt randjluvr! Her mom owns a trophy shop and is doing the engraving for us. With a Brigader hovering over her shoulder as she works, we know it will look great!

R.A.I.N.N. FUNDRAISER: There is good news and bad news. The bad news is we did not reach our minimum number to order the mouse pads. The good news is we have still raised a very large donation to RAINN for JJ and Becky's birthdays. We will still be taking straight donations for RAINN until May 1st. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Please email Cpt. LL1998 on where to send the money. Again, for those of you who ordered a mouse pad I'm sorry we can't do it. I appreciate those of you who sent money by the deadline and, of course, I'm always so grateful to those who sent straight donations. Your generosity is so wonderful. I think you are going to be pleased at how much we raised in spite of not getting the orders we needed. One final note, MORE THAN HALF of the money was raised by MizVamp who sold her SSW3 tapes for this occasion. Thanks so much, MizV, for all you did for this fundraiser. Cpt. LL1998 will be giving us the final amount the first week in May and we will have plenty of time to get the certificates of donation sent to JJ and Becky before their birthdays. Thanks again.

NNN GIFT SHOP: The gift shop at the NNN Regiment page has been updated with more L&L and early Lucky tapes. I'm sure we will all be going on "Lucky" withdrawals soon, so now might be a good time to order some missed episodes. There is a link to the regiment pages at HQ, so check it out!

A MESSAGE FROM Cpt. LL1998....."I wanted to let every one know that the Boxcar regiment's web page should be up at HQ this week. I wanted to say thanks to all of the Brownies who have worked so hard over the past few months on this web site. GHlover, Carly VH, Jamie, CA2B, and Andrea have done an awesome job on this page. Lt. Erica and Ynette have helped with research as well. The site has a family tree--with pictures, a recipe page with recipes for Brownies-- of course!, a crossword puzzle, a "what if" section about GH entitled "Half-baked ideas from the Brownies, a fanfic page, our roster page, and three sections still in construction called The Spenssadine Boys, the History of L&L, and an entire page devoted to The Man--Luke! Our site is very picture happy. I got one of those video captures for Christmas so most of the pics are video captures that we didn't have to borrow from other sites--they are Brigade pics--woo hoo. I have enjoyed the other regiment pages and I hope you all will take the time to check ours out too. If you should see any errors on any of these pages, please let me know. Every one has worked so hard and I know they would like to make corrections if there are any.

KEEPERSHIP PAGE: I want to do a new page at HQ with all of our keeperships listed. I need someone to help me gather the information first, though. If someone would volunteer to receive emails from all the Brigaders who have keeperships and put them in a list for me, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm sorry HQ hasn't been fully updated in a while.

DAYTIME EMMYS: The Daytime Emmys will be held at Madison Square Gardens in NYC on May 21. Tickets go on sale Monday, April 19. The prices are $200, $150, and $100. The New York's Hotel Pennsylvania, which is across from Madison Square Garden, charges $169 for 2 people a night. Of course. there are many hotels in NYC. So far only a few of you have mentioned going, but I know that was before the prices were announced. Let me know if you are still wanting to attend and I'll try to get you a list of each others names and emails. Thank you MizVamp for researching this information for us.

PUSH FOR ROSIE: I've been asked again to remind you guys that pre or post Emmys is the perfect time for Rosie to have JJ and Becky on her show, so keep writing those emails and snail mails!

SOAP FAN MAG: I appreciate all of you who read my new online magazine last week. I look forward to hearing more comments from you. What you guys think of it means a lot to me. I wanted to let you all know that it will be updated with more articles every Wednesday. This week I am putting up a GREAT pic of JJ and Becky. This snap shot was taken by a friend of mine so none of you have seen it, but you won't want to miss it. She is selling 8X10 copies too, and I suggest you all take a look. https://www.angelfire.com/or/soapfanmag

If we thought last week was hard, I fear this week will be much worse. Hang in there. Keep close to your email buddies. And remember, in Liz's own words, don't let anyone make you feel bad for feeling bad.

Keep the faith!
|_ _| FOREVER!
Boo

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L&L Brigade Newsletter April 25, 1999

Brigaders,

This was a hard week. I don't know if I've ever know a week quite like this before. Not only were we all in pain watching Port Charles mourning, but we were witness to that horrible, all too real tragedy in Colorado. I couldn't help thinking of the families of the victims as I was watching Lucky's memorial service on Friday. I'm still trying to recover from the emotional drain.

I can't let last week pass without saying something about the performances of Genie Francis and Tony Geary. Once again I was reminded why they are legends on Daytime. Their grief was so real, not only the words they said, but their physical reaction to the pain. It was mesmerizing!

I also have to comment on Becky's performance, specifically on Tuesday's episode. It would have been so easy for someone to play those scenes over the top, but she didn't. She has grown so much as an actress right before our eyes.

For those of you who are scoop free…… who didn't have any idea what was coming at the end of Friday's episode…… I honestly don't know how you made it through the week!

TUESDAY'S PREEMPTION: In my humble opinion, the 4/20 episode of GH was one of the best hours that I've ever seen on TV! It's so unfortunate that so many of you missed it. Half the episode was pre-empted on the East Coast, and all of it on the West Coast. However, some of us were able to catch a reshowing in the middle of the night. I know a lot of you have said you think you need a copy and….. you are right! If you missed it, you definitely need a copy. It was THAT good! I have several people working on dubs already. Please contact them directly (not through me) and make your own arrangements.

Liberty Regiment: Please contact Pvt. Steph
TK Trauma Unit Regiment and the Reserves: Please contact Pvt. Angela
Boxcar Regiment and NNN Regiment: Please contact Capt. LL1998

KEEPERSHIP PAGE: I was so thrilled with how many people volunteered to help with the keepership page at HQ. You guys are great! Pvt JonoSRFan of Liberty Regiment was the first to get back to me, though, and she will be helping with this project. I know that a lot of the Regiment pages have their own rosters with keeperships. What I'd like to do, though, is to have a page with all the keeperships alphabetized. That way when someone thinks of one they'd like, they don't have to hunt around to see if someone beat them to it. You can easily check the list. Hopefully, we will soon have someone else to contact when you want to claim one, because I haven't been able to regulate that for you guys as many of you have wanted me to. I do think, however, that there should be a limit to the number of keeperships one person can have so everyone has a chance. For now, please email you keeperships (no more than 3) with your "Brigade" name (that's your screen name) and your Regiment to JonoSRFan.

NNN HAVE NEW OFFICERS: Captain Kreyn of NNN Regiment isn't able to participate in the Brigade right now. I know she still loves L&L and all of us, and hopefully she will be back with us again someday soon. DSARA is now Captain of the NNN, and Galor5 has been made her Lt. Thanks to both of you for all the work you've already done for the Brigade. I'm really looking forward to working with you more. And a big, special thank you to Kreyn for all that she has done for us, especially leading the group to SSW3. We all miss you so much, Kelly!

JJ AND BECKY'S BIRTHDAYS. As everyone knows, JJ and Becky's birthdays are fast approaching, and we plan to make a large donation to RAINN in their names as our gift. Although we weren't able to do the mouse pads, they still helped us to get the word out and raise quite a bit for this very worthy cause. I'm so proud of all of us!!! Capt. LL1998 is still taking donations for RAINN until May 1st. Therefore, everyone still has time to get their donation in if they are mailed by the first of the week. Any amount donated is greatly appreciated. We are short by just a few dollars to reach that great even number we've been aiming for, so if you wanted to send something but thought it was too late--GOOD NEWS! :) You still can!! You can email her for an address. The gift will be mailed the first week in May. We will announce the final donation amount in next week's newsletter. Thanks so much to all of those who have donated so generously.

LETTER CAMPAIGN: I have loved reading all of the letters that I've gotten so far! As you know, I asked all of you to write a short letter to TPTB thanking them for the L&L story and reminding them that we will still be here watching to make sure they stay true to it. The goal of this mission is volume! I will be putting all of these letters in a box and delivering them to ABC Studios late next week. The more letters in the box the greater the impact. So, PLEASE write you letter!!! Because I cannot get down to the studio as soon as I thought, you have been given a little extra time. You can still mail your letter to me by Tuesday (4/27) and I should be able to include it. You can also still write your letter and send it in an email to Pvt. Jnlemom. She will be sending me another stack of letters that she has printed out for you, but please get them to her ASAP. In light of some of the stuff we saw this week I am more determined than ever to make sure TPTB know we mean business. Please remember, though, to keep your letters positive. Believe me, I'm tempted to write "Get that Cassidine away from her!!!" too. Just remind them, though, that THEY created L&L's story to be beautiful and pure and we just expect them to maintain those standards that THEY set….. regardless of what happens in the future. So, please, write you letter!!! And send it to the Brigade PO Box.

GOING AWAY GIFTS: Thank you to everyone who has contributed to JJ's "Going Away…. But not good-bye" gfit and Becky's "We'll still be here for you" gift. This really is a whole Brigade project because so many of you have been a direct part of it, and that makes it extra special. I am still waiting for the engraving to be done on JJ's clock, but hopefully it will be very soon. He may not still be at the studio to receive it, but it will be forwarded to him immediately. Don't worry, he'll still get it.

DISNEY WORLD DEAL: If any of you are a Florida residence, or know someone who is, and are planning to attend SSW4, Disney is offering a special deal called a Power pass. For $95 you can visit any of the four parks on any four days between now and Sept. 30. Those dates include the weekend of SSW4, so this is a chance to save a lot of money on your passes. It's a good idea to plan ahead. Thanks so much to Gator of Liberty Regiment for sharing this information with us.

NEW MESSAGE BOARDS: The officers and I have been discussing the problem we have with message boards. The ABC message boards have been what bonded this group and it's the best way for us to keep TPTB up on how they are doing. The problem is, the new ABC boards are impossible! I have found that I can't get on them at all either at home or work. It's so frustrating. I have a lot of things I want to say! I simply refuse to go to the PCO's boards anymore. I don't need that negativity in my life! Many of us now use the Brigade boards, but we've found the problem with them is that they don't require registration so there is no protection. Anyone can post under our names and say any nasty thing they want. So, here is the solution we are considering. We have found another kind of free MB to use that will require registration and we can set it up with our own folders. So, we can have an L&L folder, but we can also have folders for other GH characters and General GH comments. I would like to see our MB become an alternative for all GH fans, not just Brigaders, who can't navigate ABC anymore and don't want the negativity of PCO. I would want each of you to help spread the word about our boards on other GH boards and sites. I also have some ideas of how we can get TPTB to start checking out our boards (I know for a fact they read PCO). Now, the new boards ARE NOT up yet. I first want to know how you guys feel about this, if you want other GH people on our boards or if you like it just being Brigaders, and if you are willing to use our new boards if we put them up. I still think it's the best solution for getting our ideas to TPTB. So, what do you think?

Enjoy this next week, Brigaders! Our blue-eyed-boy is back for the time being!

|_ _| FOREVER
Boo

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June/July 1999 Newsletters

HQ