As I join the rest of the world in mourning the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson (Yes, I had the poster on my boyhood wall and yes, my friends and I shook whatever we had at the time to "Off The Wall" at the Egan dances), I'm focusing my grief on the soap world, specifically the loss of GH's Ric. Ironically, upon his introduction, I'm the last person who thought I'd miss the character. Holding a pregnant woman hostage in a panic room went way beyond cruel and unusual. But Rick Hearst (ex-Ric) isn't a three-time Emmy winner for nothing. Once that story passed, he began a Tracy/Hepburn-ish relationship with Alexis. They fought. They flirted. She brought out the good in him. He brought out the playful in her. The pairing won me over. Sure, I was ticked when they broke up. Gosh forbid anyone's happy on a soap for too long (even though I'm a rare believer that a happy couple CAN have involving story). Rick got interesting for me again with the arrival of his Daddie Dearest, Trevor. After seeing how callous and cruel the senior Lansing was, it made perfect sense that Ric was so screwed up. And, if any of my friends were to EVER make a comment about the caliber of acting in daytime dramas, I'd sit them down with the scenes of Hearst and Stephen Macht when Trevor made no apologies for setting Ric up with Marianna to steal Alcazar's piers. That was the linear plot but underneath, those two acting titans ripped open years of old wounds when Trevor told Ric that he was right: His mother loved Sonny more than him. "Get over it!" Trevor spat. Ouch! Hearst revealed new layers to the engaging enigma that left us wanting more. While I enjoyed the recent "Who's the Daddy?" drama of Ric\Claudia\Sonny, Hearst's sudden departure squelched that story, but I'm so glad the character wasn't killed off. "Don't worry about me," Ric smiled to Claudia as the hospital elevator doors closed. "I'll be back." Well, all I can say is, "Ya better be, Richie. Ya better be."