Do you miss out by turning off the television?
By Staff
Leada Gore, Editor
I had to stop and think. American Idol? Wasn’t that a television show I used to watch? Isn’t a television some sort of appliance in your home? I think I’ve forgotten.
Ever since Sutton was born five months ago, I’ve found myself quite pressed for time. Pastimes like watching television have gone by the wayside in favor of pursuits such as laundry (how can one baby produce so many dirty clothes?) and learning to sit up without assistance (that’s the baby, not me.)
Still, I hate being out of the pop culture loop. I was mortified several years ago when I realized I could not name one song by any of the current popular bands. In fact, I found I could name few songs recorded any time after about 1992.
So, I tried. In between bottles and diapers, I turned on the television last week. I was amazed at what I missed. Sometime in the last five months, it appears Britney Spears has lost her mind and we all decided to care. I was amazed to discover television newscasters not discussing the upcoming presidential primaries but whether the pop singer will show up in court and if she does, will she be wearing appropriate undergarments.
I did find some political discussions on television. They mainly centered on what some candidate may or may not have said, what they were wearing when they said it and, most importantly, if Hillary Clinton is elected, what her husband will be called (First Man, First Husband, etc. etc. I’m voting for First Bubba.)
Flipping through the channels, I found some things had not changed. McDreamy and McWhiney are still broken up and the doctors on “Grey’s Anatomy” still spend way too much time talking to each other and far too little time actually helping patients. The doctors on “House” do the same thing, though they do manage to cure some unheard of disease each week by writing the symptoms down on some big board.
The women on “Desperate Housewives” still seem pretty desperate, though I found I can’t keep up with who’s married to whom, who’s had who’s baby and who’s had a deadly disease, had their house destroyed or blown their ex-husband/new boyfriend’s fortune.
All the talk shows still seemed the same and the game shows, too.
The guy on “Deal or No Deal” is still bald and Tyra Banks still uses the word “fierce” a lot.
Soon after my experiment started, I turned the television off. I realized I hadn’t missed a whole lot in the last five months.
Maybe I will turn it back on in another five months. Or maybe, just maybe, I will opt to turn it off permanently.
