It's been a couple of months. A friend asked me when I was going to write again, and I told him I would do so when I felt inspired once again by something I considered to be important, if not a personally profound. During my conversation with him, he reminded me a a very funny moment in our deep past which lead to the content of my current blog entry. This entry.As many of you know, I work in the holistic health industry, and have for many years. This means that many of my close associates and friends are holistically centered, and sport bumper stickers that say things like PEACE ON EARTH, INTEGRATE (all in letters designed to look like a bunch of religious symbols), CHOOSE LIFE...all of which I can get behind for the most part, but the one that has always bugged me is KILL YOUR TV. Seen it for years, hated it for years.
Television has brought me more joy, education and entertainment than any other single thing that I know of. Is that wrong? All the way back to the Little Rascals and the Three Stooges, to the Brady Bunch and My Favorite Martian. I learned all about racial integration...hell, I didn't even know where was such a thing as black people at that tender young age, humor (albeit somewhat violent-but was smart enough to know it was pretend), how to be a part of a perfect family (and still pretty much am) and the possibilities of science fiction becoming a reality as we walked around on the moon, unless you are a conspiracy theorist and think the whole thing was staged.
Later I recognized the shows that provided a window into the civil services...Emergency 51 (remember Johnny Gage-had the biggest crush, although I really liked Dr. Early too...his calm demeanor and higher intelligence) and CHIPS (remember Eric Estrada with those white, white teeth...those were before tooth whitening became a requirement for beauty...and yes I had a crush on him too).
Movies also were a bit life-defining. The first time I fell in love, I was only maybe 6 or 7 years old, and fell head-over-heals for Tarzan...probably the original Tarzan. I wanted to be Jane so much that I literally could not sleep at night and would get butterflies in my stomach whenever I thought of that big, strong, protective, handsome beast-of-a-man swooping down through the trees on perfectly placed vines to rescue his Jane, just moments before she was eaten by the fierce lion...who turned out to be Tarzan's personal friend. Now that's hot. Still is. Two kings of the jungle protecting me? MMMMhhhhmmmmmm!
Later I became interested in more sophisticated programming, like LA Law, NYPD Blue, X-Files, and others. They provided me with an inside look at our judicial system and government agencies. Of course, much of it is fabricated entertainment, but I know enough to know the difference. I learned about the hierarchy that exists within various agencies, protocols, what is okay to speak about and what is best left to one's self. I learned what is a tolerable norm, and what is considered fringe. The latter I generally keep to myself as I have had enough experiences that expressing fringe concepts can easily alienate me from my peers, if not scare them the hell away!
Most recently, I have become attracted to shows like Bones and NCIS for their detailed forensic science and crime solving tactics, as well as Dexter for cleaning up the garbage that Bones and NCIS leaves behind. Vigilante justice still appeals to me, probably after my many John Wayne indoctrinations, way back in my past.
Anyway, I have become so fascinated with these shows that I bought an Apple TV which allows me to purchase entire seasons of whatever shows I like, and watch them all I wish, studying the characters, the processes and protocols, and how some of our systems of government really probably work. I became so curious about NCIS that I actually purchased 7 full seasons (about 175 1-hour episodes) and watched every one of them within about a week. Okay...two weeks...but still! That's about 12 hours of study on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service a day for 14 straight days. Who would ever want to know that much about an organization I have nothing personally to do with? Me. If I become interested in something, I learn as much as I can about it, including internet research, and once in a while, books, though I have little time to read with all this TV watching I need to do.
Recently, I am confronted with the fact that none of the characters on NCIS own or watch TV. They have busy, full lives, and do things like read books and go out with friends. Totally annoying, considering I am devoting 12 hours a day to watching their show. Additionally, my niece who is 25 years old recently cancelled her cable service. What I am witnessing is that she is become much more active in her life...going out and doing yoga, running, socializing, romancing the world in a way I used to do. Also totally annoying.
That brings me back to that dreadful KILL YOUR TV bumper sticker that I still hate. How am I to learn about all these amazing careers and their internal structures without applying for a job at a LA Law Firm or the NY Police Department, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Naval Criminal Investigative Services, especially when I've never been in the Navy, not to mention that I have a $3500 SONY Bravia XBR? How could I kill something so technologically extraordinary and beautiful?
I have to contemplate how much I want to do yoga, read books, socialize, twiddle my thumbs, meditate, etc. Despite my ridiculously apparent fascination with the boob tube, I maintain my own home by myself, working often 2-3 hours a day outside and maintain my own business, which for all intents and purposes is highly successful. I feed my dog and cat every day, and eat healthily for the most part. My mind works faster than most, and it NEVER turns off. The only way I can stop it from hyperdrive and often whorp-speed is to turn on the TV and focus outside myself and into the minds of other people and organizations. And it is often the only way I can fall asleep (besides reading, which is too boring to stay awake for).
The whole situation really stinks. On one hand, I feel like I may be wasting my life away by not doing Yoga, meditating, meeting friends for coffee, blah, blah, blah. But on the other hand, I grow in intelligence every single day, feel satiated, calm and fulfilled without the aforementioned healthy alternatives.
There is nothing like lying in my incredibly comfortable bed at night (or during the day when I am on a serious mission) next to my dog and cat watching something that challenges my mind, enlightens my soul, and provides me with new ideas and inspiration for future opportunities, real or imagined. And like my old friend did that day, long, long ago, if I happen to have a bout of bad gas, I can blame it on the remote rather than my dog.
