That however, was Saturday. Sunday I spent hanging out with my friend Len and his two kids; Lennie (4) and Madeline (8mo). Sara and I were only there for about 4 hours. We ate some really good wings, and I played with Lennie on Disney.com, and then sat on the floor with Maddie making sure she didn't put anything too disgusting in her mouth.
Then suddenly, it happened. . . the TV was turned on. When you're 27 and a 4 year old asks if you'll watch "The Land Before Time" with him, chances are you're going to say yes. He pitched it really well. "Bill, will you watch the dinosaurs movie with me? We can make the room a movie theater and eat fishies!" I mean right? Is that not a home run of a request?! Lennie also told me that this one was his favorite of all the Land Before Time movies, which is good news. Because in my opinion anyone who acknowledges LBT 2-8 should be exiled. Plain and simple.
The funny thing is, you know what happened to our nice visit once the movie went on? It basically ended. We didn't socialize much anymore, we all just . . . watched the movie. Sure Lennie had some awesome commentary, and Len, Sara, and I got a kick out of the jokes and quotes; but an hour and change of our visit was just gone. I wonder if in a few years, any of us will remember that visit. I doubt Len will ever say "Hey remember that time you came over and watched The Land Before Time with me and my kids? He might. And if he reads this he'll make certain he never forgets it so 15 years from now he can say exactly that. But you know what I learned, TV is really good at preventing memories from happening.
Sara and I don't have cable. And I don't mean we don't pay for cable, I mean, we don't have the cable you need to hook into the wall to get the free stuff. If we even can get the free stuff I don't even know. Did everything go digital yet? Probably. I'd never know it. Just like I didn't know there was some crazy flood in Tennessee until I called a customer at work and he told me he was going away for 3 weeks to help out. I also didn't hear about that failed terrorist attempt in NY a few weeks ago, until just recently. The only reason I heard about it was because my co-workers were shocked to learn that I didn't know about that huge oil spill in Florida, until a customer who works at an environmental hazmat company called me from the spill to order 7 new phones. Every now and again when people realize just how much I've disconnected myself from "the real world", they like to play this game called "Well did you hear that ____".
The answer is almost always no. I didn't hear about the kid who won American Idol. I didn't catch the game, and unfortunately I have no idea who won the series. I don't know what celebrity has decided to turn in his vales and credibility for some "fun", and if the words "rape, murder, bombing, threat, fire, warning" etc. appear in the news title then I definitely haven't heard about it. It's actually, kind of nice. I only hear about the larger than life events. Stuff I NEED to know about. Things that pertain to me, find me. Because people love talking about things like that to me. Especially now, because 9 times out of 10 you get a pretty good reaction from me because I'm totally ignorant.
But check this out. As a result of my lack of cable, when I visit friends and family, if a TV set is off when I arrive; it stays off until I leave. Not because I say anything about the TV being on or off, but because Sara and I are getting really good at maintaining small talk. We are forced to do it at home all the time. I have no clue about any reality TV shows, but I do know my wife's financial, occupational, personal, and spiritual goals for the remainder of 2010. Guess what else...she knows all of mine too! A few months ago we talked about planting a garden. One day, we up and did it. Because that's what I do in "the rock I apparently live under".
It gets even better, and brings this little blurb to a nice close with a fancy pretty bow on top. Sunday after hanging out with Len, we went to Sara's parent's house for dinner. We ate outside, which is always nice, cleaned up and sat in the living room. Mr. D and I started talking about the CD favor we gave out at our wedding, and I told him how the DJ made fun of me when I requested he play Cat Stevens - Peace Train. This got us talking about the kind of music he listened to as a 20 something year old, and what his parents were listening to in comparison. He asked me if I had ever heard any other Cat Stevens songs, and the answer is no. I heard a snippet of Peace Train in the movie We Are Marshall and discovered I liked the whole thing. So you know what he did?! He marched down into the basement and came back with a record player, and some vinyl records. He said he hadn't played them in about 20 years, and didn't even know if they'd play anymore.
Sure enough, they did. So I spent my Sunday night listening to 70's music with my wife, and my mother and father in law.
Here is the best part: while we were there, someone called Mrs. D to remind her that Survivor was about to start. She made a decision to keep the TV off, and just keep chatting instead. I bet, 20 something more years from now she'll be talking to a recently engaged grandchild of hers, telling that child what their parents were like when they were recently married. And how they "didn't go on a honeymoon right away, but there was one night that they came over for dinner, and we all listened to old records together. We even heard the song that was played at our (remember, this is Mrs. D talking) wedding".Give it a whirl. Record your favorite shows tonight. Watch them on whatever night it is that "there's nothing good on TV". It used to be Tuesday 15 years ago. See if you can learn about a family member's hopes dreams and aspirations. Just ask them straight up what they are. Ask your dad if he still has his record player or an 8 track. Get talking about someone else. See what you can learn from them, or about them. You may turn some random night into a great memory.
One more question - what did you watch on TV 2 nights ago?
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