We are living with Grandma Clarkson now in East Ridge. She has lived there for more than 40 years – before I-24 was there. She used to be out in the country, but now she is surrounded by houses and speeding autos. She still has one of the biggest lots in the neighborhood, though, and refuses to sell the extra property. Back in the day, it made a great baseball diamond, flexi course, etc. It could also make a great parking lot for the dentist she shares it with.
At Grandma’s, we eat a lot more meat, ice cream, and cole slaw. Part of her duty this month is to fatten us up before we go down south, where refrigeration (and therefore meat) will probably be scarce. We come home from work at 6 or 7 and she’s prepared this big meal for us, and then she insists on cleaning up afterwards.
After dinner we usually watch the news, or unfamiliar sitcoms, or Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!. Kel and I are not used to watching TV. It is a strange experience. I think pharmaceutical companies must have tripled their advertising budgets in the last few years. Whatever problem you have (or didn’t know you had), there is an expensive prescription drug for it. The other day we even saw one for Zoloft that addressed “social anxiety” as a chemical imbalance.
We are developing an intense dislike for FoxNews. I feel I’ve been assaulted whenever I watch it. The reporters and anchors tend to be snide and condescending; the sounds and special effects are usually disruptive and violent; and then there’s the irritating “news ticker” running across the bottom of the screen announcing things like: “US is in top 5 of countries most likely to be attacked by terrorists.” Imagine. And that’s not even getting into the content itself. McLuhan, it would seem, is vindicated.
The bright side is that we are more up to date on the world’s happenings than we ever have been before.
Since we are in East Ridge, we have become commuters. Gone are the happy-go-lucky St. Elmo days of living within walking distance of many friends, good trails, work, grocery, and ice cream, not to mention Safari Pub, which we haven’t tried yet. And the Incline Railway, for which you can get cheap commuter tickets. Now our work and home worlds are more divided.
However, we are a lot closer to and Krispy Kreme and Sir Goony’s Family Fun Center. (This place is great – read Aaron’s Cypress Gardens post and then try out Sir Goony’s. As Robert Heiskell said, it is a real Chattanooga experience. On Monday the swami with glowing green eyes ate our golf balls.) And we are within running distance to Missionary Ridge, which offers an incredible view of Chattanooga and I-24, as well as a lot of large houses with Civil War plaques in their front yards. Not quite the charm of Lookout Mountain, but close.
So we feel very “in between” right now. We are in the “already/not yet.” We’ve already moved out of our St. Elmo home(s), but not yet left for Honduras. And we are missing Joe and Rachel. They are gallivanting around the eastern United States, and we are still working and waiting. Our two months with J&R was fabulous – living with someone else really expands one’s horizons. We are hoping and praying that living with them in Honduras is good as well. We believe it will be. We’ve got the Holy Spirit, after all.
And only Kelly really has a good picture of what Honduras will really be like. The rest of us haven’t been there yet. Sort of like heaven, except probably more garbage and diseases.
A slow goodbye to the homeland...
Who cares about world news, when there is EPL soccer to watch! Fox Sports World 24 hours a day!
O'Reilly has made millions with his debating prowess. By "debating prowess" I mean the old "cut off your guest before they can finish their sentences" technique. Very effective. One wonders why anyone would agree to be on his show, given his bullying.
I can't comment much on today's sitcoms, but I doubt they match Seinfeld's pure, useless, absurdity.
I'm surprised...if you think Fox is bad, try watching CNN. At least fox is not so gung-ho on everything Clinton has ever said, done, or will do.
John Updike has a great poem about the telly in the Sept. Atlantic Monthly. I leave it for you here, like a cat leaves birds on the front step.
.....
TV
by John Updike
.....
As if it were a tap I turn it on,
not hot or cold but tepid infotainment,
and out it gushes, sparkling evidence
of conflict, misery, concupiscence
let loose on little leashes, in remissions
of eager advertising that envisions
on our behalf the better life contingent
upon some buy, some needful acquisition.
A sleek car takes a curve in purring rain,
a bone-white beach plays host to lotioned skin,
a diaper soothes a graying beauty's frown,
an unguent eases sedentary pain,
false teeth are brightened, beer enhances fun,
and rinsed hair hurls its tint across the screen:
these spurts of light are drunk in by my brain,
which sickens quickly, till it thirst again.
Do you watch the local fox news station? With Melissa "Absolutely Terrified" Riopka? She's got this permanent look of dazed-fear in her eyes. Freaks me out. The local news is also trying to imitate the national Fox News channel also.
If you're gonna watch a sitcom, check out Will n' Grace. Not completely sure what to think about it just yet, but dang do they know how to "turn a phrase."