It has not been a great life for "General Hospital's" Steve Burton (Jason) in front of or behind the camera. In the show, Jason is about to enter an arranged marriage to Carly to fight the Port Charles mobsters. By the way, Sonny, thought to be a dead mob boss, has never voiced what his crime is. He has said what it is not: dealing drugs; sex trafficking; gambling; dog races. The only thing left is making bad coffee. That's it. His "Perks" coffee company makes bitter coffee. No offense, but Starbucks has gotten away with that for decades.

Back to Jason's horrible week. Sam kicked him to the curb. His children's birth mothers told him to stay from his children for their safety. As always, Jason does what everyone asks him. Folks, you need to remember that he suffered frontal lobe brain damage when he tried to stop his brother A.J. from driving drunk. His allegiance to Sonny makes sense. He had no memory of his former life. The Quartermaines were just pressing him to be the Jason they knew, and for good reason. When the pressure became too much, Jason fled the mansion. Sonny, who remembered how kind Jason was, seems to the dying from AIDS. He hired Jason as a valet for his restaurant. In no time, Jason worked his way up to hit man. His allegiance to Carly is not that easy to explain. He is the one to pay for every one of Carly's hair-brained ideas. Her latest plot — getting married — is keeping Jason busy.

Off camera, Burton announced he tested positive for COVID-19. He announced he contracted it on the "GH" set, but he did not say from who. He assured fans he was feeling fine. Although he seemed a bit wan, he took to Instagram two days later. He thanked fans and co-workers for their support and well wishes. He said his family is fine. He is in isolation for the next week. That will be really hard for him. He is always jumping around and doing three things - make that four things — at once. The big unanswered question: Was he vaccinated? He has not made a statement as to if he has been or not. So far, the questions about it from the press have been crickets.

Genie Francis (Laura) is wrapping up her latest stint on "GH." Francis joined the show as a teen. She had to deal with sometimes not so nice fans. She had a producer who was so cruel, she wanted the teenage girl to lose her battle with the bottle. Her husband, Jonathan Frakes, always has her back if she needs a wingman. I remember two things about the young Francis. She was appearing as a celeb on a game show, and her dad actor Ivor was on the set. The question was about Benjamin Franklin. Dad leaped in and said she will not know he was. So much for on-set teaching. One time when I interviewed her, she was getting ready to go on her first cruise. I asked her the name of the cruise line. The interview was over the phone. I could hear her fright that I would print it. I didn't. She feared the fans would stalk her. Who can blame her? Tony Geary, the Luke to her Laura, often stated his life was miserable during the Luke and Laura craze. Having located where he lived, fans made it so he could not get in or out of his home. That would make me a bit crotchety.

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

Photo Credit: Vitolda Klein at Unsplash