When Days of Our Lives alum Peter Reckell stormed onto our screens as Bo Brady on May 3, 1983, we never could have imagined the impact he — and portrayer Peter Reckell — would have on daytime. We certainly never imagined that more than four decades later, we’d be holding out hope that the oft-resurrected hero might once again return to Salem.

Sure, the character’s most recent return was not exactly what fans had hoped for. From a story which kept Bo from reuniting with true love Hope to a campy showdown which saw Bo shipped to an off-screen hospital, it wasn’t ideal. But the fact that there was so much debate and discussion over it is, Reckell insisted at one point, a good thing. It means people are just as passionate as ever.

Back on the 35th anniversary of his debut, Reckell tweeted that “On this day, what seems like a lifetime ago, I realized I was the luckiest man on Earth! What a gift, what a ride, it was amazing!”

At the time, of course, he had no idea that Bo would ever return. His heavenly adventure, resurrection and brainwashing were all still years away. But it was clear that those first 35 years of Bo were more than Reckell could have dreamed.

It was one heck of a ride, from Bo’s entrance, riding his beloved motorcycle and rocking a leather jacket. It all just screamed rebel. And really, that makes it a bit more understandable that after being brought back from the dead, Bo would want to rebel again — even if it was against the man he used to be!

But that was all still decades off. Back in 1983, fans weren’t quite sure what they were supposed to make of this dashing young man with the roguish smile and enough charm to make a nun blush.

More: When is fan-favorite Nicole exiting the canvas? 

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long for Bo to meet Hope so we could learn what to make of him.

Now picking up a lady who’d been drinking alone could easily be a recipe for disaster — especially when you start out by telling the bartender you were going over to the table with “the little girl attached to it.” Eek! #MeToo cautionary tale, here we come.

But what unfolded upended all our expectations. For one thing, Hope has never been the damsel in distress. She began their meeting by trying to con Bo into buying her a beer, only to be shut down by those who knew better. Undeterred, Bo offered to show her a good time… on his motorcycle.

More: The Days of Our Lives exit that outraged fans

Hope jumped at the chance, but when she stumbled over the name of her school, Bo put the pieces together and realized the beautiful girl he’d almost instantly fallen for was actually a high school student. (No wonder he became a detective!) Still, he’d offered her a ride home, and being the gentleman he really was, he made good on that promise and took her safely back to her parents.

And that’s really the story of Bo’s life. Not the Bo and Hope part, though, honestly, they’re so intertwined, it’s downright hard to just say one of their names without immediately following it with the other.

That first meeting could have easily moved him from rebel to sleazeball, but the goodness in his heart won out, as did the easy charm only Reckell could bring to the role. Bo was a hero through and through. And that’s no small feat for someone who turned out not to be the son of good guy Shawn Brady but Victor Kiriakis!

When the mobster found out his torrid affair with Caroline had borne a son, he tried his damnedest to sway Bo over to the dark side. When he refused, Victor disowned him. But of course Bo refused. Even though we knew he would always go his own way, we never doubted that he’d go that way while doing the right thing.

More: Celebrate Kristian Alfonso’s debut at Hope

Eventually, Bo traded his motorcycle jacket for a police uniform, but he never lost his rebellious edge. It’s why, even though Reckell would come and go over the 31 years he was on the show, we never stopped loving Bo. And it’s why, years after Bo died in his beloved Hope’s arms, we never stopped holding out for our hero, hoping that Reckell might someday bring Bo back to Salem.

“It was an amazing time,” he told Soap Opera Digest when he left the show, “and I’m a very lucky guy to have been able to play this amazing role for as long as I had.”

More: How to watch the wildest soap on television

Of course, given that soaps are a genre where absolutely nothing is impossible, we can’t help hoping that both Reckell and Bo eventually will make their way back to Salem. Until then, we’ll just continue to swoon from a distance.