THE QUIET MULE COMPANION:

It is funny that even among the people who do not watch TV, who believe it to be a waste of time, there are those who are mesmerized by the entertainment they have viewed in the past.  This goes for me as well.  The vast majority of friendships in my life had not so much to do with a bonding over experiences, but with bonding over entertainment.  I get this from my parents. It is a very odd thing to watch 50 year olds in the middle of a conversation with you one second, then bring it to a halt and run to their television like children. 

Peter and I joke around about how we still remember scenes from mom’s favorite soap opera “One Life to Live.”  A bad man named Todd was murdered (for those who are curious, Todd was apparently in hiding and is still on the show). We also remember that a boy was stuck in a well.  It is sad that I have no fond memories of spending time with my parents, but I sure do have vivid ones of their favorite TV programs.  I would viciously attack, say, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," unaware that it was because I bonded with entertainment instead of family.  I identified with the Late Show with Conan O’Brian instead of my father. 

Speaking of The Tonight Show, the real bad guy in all of this is Letterman.  Cheating on your wife is much worse than Jay Leno being a jerk.  NBC execs have done more reprehensible things than kicking Conan out as well.  O’Brien’s version of The Tonight Show had the same nonexistent range as Leno except aimed at a younger audience.  There was nothing new going on, Twitter Tracker?  Sure, the actual Conan and Letterman sometimes pop up to speak from the heart.  Those few minutes though are hardly worth the hours of stale monologues, dull interviews, and repetitive bits.  Turning the TV off will always be more rewarding.  Except Conan’s last episode, that was cool.  Will he learn from all of this?  God only knows.  Let us pray that he does, or we will have another great depression on our hands.

 The moral of this post is to join me in burying the Todds and Irishmen exalted by unrelenting colored dots.  Cling to your neighbor and support them, not a dahm coco, come on.

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