He says, "Goodbye," but he might again say, "Hello."

The very week Tony Geary wrapped up his 30-plus years of playing Luke on "General Hospital," he had an interesting interview with Entertainment Weekly. He says he was never bored with Luke. The antihero character could do anything. He was open about his dislike of the exit story (bringing Frank Smith and Jake back from the dead).

He was very vocal about his relationship with head writer Ron Carlivati (i.e., it was nonexistent). The only time he can remember so much as a nod from Carlivati was when they sat at the same table at the Daytime Emmy Awards. He also suggested Luke had become bland. He did tell Entertainment Weekly, "If the story is interesting to me and it works out, I may come back to the show for six weeks or so."

The ABC soap's executive producer, Frank Valentini, also welcomes a possible Geary return. "He has millions of friends here," says the exec, who admits he was "devastated" when Geary came to him about wanting to leave. "It's not a question of him being able to stay or come back. It just has to be a good enough, solid to bring (him back)."

With Carlivati axed as head writer last week, the new writing team, Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman, are most likely unable to give cries of "Bring back Luke" a lot of attention. For them, it must be first things first. The first thing is to get the "General Hospital" ratings back on track. The show has been shedding viewers, while other soaps are attracting viewers. The show did experience a ratings surge for the Luke exit episode. Now it is back in free-fall.

"Days of Our Lives" also has a new team of head writers. The characters of Patch, Philip and Bo are set to return. No word on how long the characters will stay on the canvas. In the "gone" department are Xander, Aiden and several others. The relationship between John and Marlena will be front and center. Look to see more of Abe, Julie and Doug. In good soap opera fashion, there will be a murder mystery.

Michael Easton (Silas on "General Hospital") is leaving the show. The actor has already taped his last episode. His character will not go gently in to that good night.

Word has it that Genie Francis (Laura on "General Hospital") will be MIA for a while. Genie has said that she was not just on the show for the Luke write-off.

Over at "The Young and Restless," look for the character of James, a veteran with PSTD, to have a major impact on Genoa City.

The "who killed Austin/Courtney/Toby" murder mystery will be resolved this month. Great. I am very high on "The Young and the Restless." The acting is amazing; the dialogue moving, funny and bittersweet. The only problem is that at times the plots are convoluted. We very much need at least this one storyline to be wrapped up.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.