we are weird

I have a confession to make. We do not watch television.

I got a call the other day from someone who asked for my husband's ex-wife. I knew right away that the caller was calling from one of a handful of organizations to which my husband and his ex-wife used to donate. (She worked on Wall Street and her salary was inflated accordingly. However, the story of my husband and his ex-wife is his story to tell, not mine. She is his EX-wife. Enuf said.) Anyway, I said, "She doesn't live here. She's actually never lived here; she's my husband's ex-wife."

This got the caller very flustered. She said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll correct that right away. Do you live at ....?" I said yes, and explained that when my husband forwarded his address from the apartment he shared with his ex to his interim apartment, the post office helpfully gave his forwarding address to a few of the organizations who sent mail to his ex-wife. They followed him when we got married and he moved here. It's no big deal, I just throw them away. So the caller said, "I'll fix it so they don't bother you anymore." Then, sheepishly,"This is Channel 13, by the way. Do you or your husband happen to watch Channel 13?"

This is where I had to say, "No, we don't watch television. It's just a lifestyle choice we've made. But if we did watch tv we probably would watch Channel 13..." (for what that's worth, which isn't much). So the caller hung up, and I guess we won't be getting begging-letters from Channel 13 anymore.

Channel 13, by the way, is the local PBS station, and I have no problem with my son watching "Sesame Street" or "Zoom" or "Between the Lions." At least, I didn't until that dumb Bush appointee to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting started messing with PBS and NPR. (I don't often listen to NPR because at times their commentary does come across as too liberal, even for me. But I haven't heard anything in the least bit partisan on "Car Talk" yet. And if you don't like the content of a program, you can turn it off -- what a concept.) HOWEVER, if Tom DeLay starts appearing with Big-Bird... well, it's all over. (My son doesn't show any interest in tv yet, anyway.)

I used to watch tv. I watched the national news back when I was in college, and "Miami Vice" on Friday nights. I moved to NYC and didn't have a television for several years, and didn't miss it much. I watched "The X Files" on Sunday nights until I met my husband. I rarely watched anything I'd worked on -- that's like re-reading your final exam. Eventually tv pretty much ceased to interest me all together. Once in a while I'll watch a baseball game. It costs less and is much easier than going to the ballpark with a toddler. My husband doesn't watch anymore either, and the majority of his clients are broadcast producers. He understands what they do, but he doesn't have to see what they've done, if you get my drift. It doesn't make him a better or worse architect.

So I suppose that makes us weird. Almost everything I know about what's on tv today comes from something I've read about it. Besides, there are too many things we want to do to spend time every night on our ever-broadening butts parked in front of the boob-tube. If I want to further broaden my butt I prefer to read a book. Speaking of which, I've got one that I haven't started yet. So have a good Memorial Day weekend, everybody. Bye.