When I first heard “television was nothing more than an optical illusion” I immediately dismissed the notion dismissed the notion and no longer listened to anything my biology teacher had to say; which included his normal course of instruction. So here I am now, working on some quick math, and actually realizing thirty-five years later that Mr. Orbison was correct. I came upon this last night while the ladies of the house watched the conclusion of “The Bachelor”. With my head buried in a pillow, washing away what had been the first day of the workweek, I listened to the conversation between my wife and daughter and muttering my own opinion about this particular television program. It was easy for me to pay no attention to Mr. Orbison when he first opined on this subject as the only real television I watched in those days were football games on Sunday and the Three Stooges on Channel 38. How could either be an optical illusion? What did he really mean? You may have read in a previous post that in those days I rarely, if ever, asked questions in search of an answer, which in this case was true. He was an adult, who probably watched neither the Patriots games nor the slapstick comedic geniuses of Moe, Larry and Curly. Television may very well be an optical illusion which we seek to take us from the realities of what lies outside the door and after listening to the last fifteen minutes of last night’s program helps little to bring any reality into the homes of the millions who viewed the program. My opinion. How many times do we have to hear a women who lost the man “she loved” bitch about how difficult it is to live in a house with twenty-five other women, all sharing the same goal? I doubt seriously if my biology teacher was a psychic, but to this end, and nearly four decades later I have to admit, he is absolutely correct. Thankfully I have the NHL channel to watch the Boston Bruins, the MLB channel to watch the Boston Red Sox and my daughter and I share a little “Shameless” on Sunday evenings. All the illusion I need for any particular period of time. Yes, I suppose living with twenty-five other women, under one roof is a delicate task, but is this really what our children should be watching to learn about finding the person they will share the rest of their days with? Granted, this won’t be found on the three aforementioned programs either.
Last year at this time we were all in a reality bubble with regular visits to Marin General visiting my bride after her double mastectomy where she learned more about National Public Radio from her 70-something roommate than she ever wanted to know. Logan and I were about to be trained in cleaning Mom’s drains and learning more about breast cancer than either of us ever wanted to know.
I suppose there is a time and place for television programs like The Bachelor, and I’m thankful there’s a television in the house where the girls can watch this on their own. Frank Sinatra is on the IPOD … and though Frank was a little before my time I think he would certainly agree, and perhaps have his own experiences to having “The World on a String”.
It’s been one hell of a year, and I’m actually thankful Bonnie has this type of program to enjoy with our daughter. After all, I was probably walking towards her locker once Mr. Orbison finished his lecture anyway. Yes, we’ve known each other that long, and even though this has been one crazy year, we’ve certainly learned a little bit [more] about each other just as you’ve learned a little more about breast cancer this year.
Peace,
Papa
