While I was dreaming about a large, black obsidian
like object landing on the planet, on top of me, my family and friends, a comet
was actually passing by earth. I was sharing my dream with my friend when she
mentioned the comet. I did not know about the phenomenon. It occurred to me
that there is a lot going on around me that I don't know about. There are many
people who seem to be on the pulse of what is going on, who can Schpeel off the
events of each day. Sometimes I think that I may be missing out because I am
not on the pulse of life's events. But then with all there is to know, how does
one keep up? Would I be sleeping away when the big one hits? Even in my family
dynamics I have found that most events pass me by. For a long time I lived
without television. Too busy to pay attention to TV shows or even the news, I
removed myself from the world, until my daughter called me on that fateful
morning.
I was living in Ontario in a small out of the way town, on a beautiful piece of land that was overrun with deer, squirrels, foxes, wild birds and fish in several small ponds that meandered through the property, connected by tributaries running under handmade bridges dotted like patches on the long strip of land. Across the road and down the hill, was a lake that would freeze in the winter revealing the wonder of water in solid form and the sparkle of the water on a summer's evening. I was busy writing and the telephone rang. I impatiently answered it. My daughter was at the end of the phone asking me how I felt about what was happening in New York.
I snapped at her, " What are you talking about?"
She said, "Turn on the TV!"
"Why should I turn on the TV?” I asked.
"Turn-on-the-T-V!"
she insisted.
I turned on the TV the moment when a second plane was driven into the second tower of the Twin Tower at The World Trade Centre. The rest of my day was spent by the television. Everything was forgotten. I was on the phone calling family and friends who lived in New York. Since then I kept cable TV just in case there is something I might miss. Ironically, I still miss things like the comet passing by us. I am not one of those who claim that I don't watch television, because sometime in the future of my career, I will be dependent on a television audience for my livelihood.
Those of us in the media, writers, musicians, sports people to name a few, are reliant on the wide audience that television brings. We moved to the Internet as if watching shows on the Internet is an upgrade from the "sewer" of television. I am fascinated to see where we are going in the future of media. Will the Internet take the place of television or will television transform to fit the demands of the public. Maybe television is put aside for now because we have to pretend to be polite while the internet afford us the freedom to be as nasty to each other as possible. We have become impatient with ourselves, which we project on each other. The TV shows are old, carrying the same as. We are bored with the formulas. The Harry Potteresk coming of age stories. Vampire for teenagers from books that utilize formulas that publishers have been trying to maintain. The news repeated through the day. Maybe that's good because we won't miss a news headline.
How do I fit into this? I am choosing to step off the same old, same old. I follow the news, watch television shows that interest me and hope that the good I am giving by supporting entertainers on the TV will follow me when I make my way into the media.
