AAAHHHHH, it's good to be home. Don't get the wrong idea, here. I am still in Phoenix my home, but with the weather up north and here, it feels like Central Illinois. Flagstaff is getting hammered with 4-6 feet of snow today; interstates 17 and 40 are closed into and out of the city. Other northern areas are also deep in the white stuff. Here in the Valley, we are getting around 4 inches of rain coupled with high winds. There is some flooding. My pool will be overflowing by mid afternoon. Unpredictable weather is awesome!
Unpredictability in anything makes life fun.
Take for instance last week's game between the Cardinals and the Saints. It started off well for the Cards, but soon the game diminished into a fiasco. The viewership plunged at halftime. In contrast, the game before against the Packers which ended in an overtime thriller was one of the highest rated games ever. People want to see and to feel unpredictability in their lives.
Teenagers often tell us that they are "bored" that there "is nothing to do". Are they full of bunk or what? Lethargy is their problem. They have to have someone else stimulate them. As parents, we have taken the unpredictability out of their lives. We seem to think we have to plan their day for them because they are incapable of doing it. Whatever happened to getting the guys together for a basketball game in the backyard? Going for a bike ride? "Back in the day" we would leave in the morning and report back in when the street lights came on.
Some will tell you that the times are different; that innocence is gone. Who is to blame?
Barney....
Yes, Barney,that innocent dinosaur who lets us know, "I love you, you love me..." it has to be his fault. Personally, I blame CBS for taking off Captain Kangaroo. Sure, Bob Keeshan is dead, but why not get someone else to fill in? The Captain is like Santa, an idea, a figure of better things to come. He represented innocence and kindness (even if he was high sometimes). We grew up with him and Bunny Rabbit, and Mr. Greenjeans, Mr. Moose, and Dancing Bear. And we were never threatened, never felt the need to go destroy something. Now, however, CBS feels that an Early Show that is live and has visions of death and destruction is the way to start the day. Kids programming, true kids programming, is dead.
Captain Kangaroo warned Congress and the networks that once programming like his show was relegated to early Saturday Mornings, lives would change.
He was right.
Doughnut
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