Family

I don't know if everyone has TV shows that seem a part of their lives, but I do. In the seventies there were two shows that I could not live without, Family and Maude. To this day they both still push my buttons and make me feel at home, all at the same time.

Family was finally released on DVD this month (see above link), something I have been waiting for for many years. Maude may be out later in the year, but they have promised that before. I won't hold my breath.

When I ordered the DVD, after not having watched the series since it originally aired from 1976-80, I wondered if it would stand the test of time. Often times shows that I loved back then seem insipid and empty now. Not so with my beloved "Family". It moved and entertained me as much now as it did then. I had not seen any of the first mini-season before (six episodes), so I was delighted to see that even the early shows were well written.

That sense of home that I felt then still comes through today. These are people you want to know, folks you want to spend time with. Not just because my own family was rather dull, but because the world they all lived in is so full of love. There is never any doubt, even during the biggest argument, that they will all be there for each other, no matter what.

Maybe it was this certainty that drew me to the show? But that can't be all. So many TV shows had that. I guess none of them gave such a realistic portrayal of a family. They dealt with so many issues that were never brought up on television back then. The pilot episode alone dealt with marital infidelity, not just in Nancy's young marriage, but in the marriage of the couple who are at the center of the series, Kate and Doug.

When they dealt with the homosexuality of Will's best friend since childhood, in the first season, that was quite a shocker. Gays were rarely mentioned on TV back then, unless it was in a negative light. I remember how good I felt when I saw that Buddy and Kate accepted Will's friend Zeke, no questions asked. I was doubly pleased when Willie finally came around at the end of the episode.

It won many awards back then. It was a rare find in the middle of the pablum and drivel that was 1970's television. In between Charlie's Angels and Three's Company, this was an island of sanity and good television.

I am on disk five of six right now, and I can't pull myself away. If you have a chance to buy or rent it, I would highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed.

The Mid-term Elections

Do you think that it is only a coincidence that gas prices have dropped almost a dollar a gallon in the past few weeks? As soon as the primary election season ended, it all seemed to start happening.

It kind of makes you wonder just how much influence the energy companies have over the market. Natural gas prices are also down. We saw how the Enron folks manipulated things to get energy costs up out west, who's to say the big oil companies are not doing this for their old pals, Bush and Cheney.

Guess what else? Bush's approval rating started going up right after gas prices dropped. Hmmm??? Could energy prices be affecting how we feel about our well-being, and that when prices are back to normal we may feel better about the future? Which in turn makes us less angry at the boob-in-chief?

Maybe I am just being paranoid, but none of the market forces have changed that much in the last month. We still have unrest in the middle-east, corruption in Nigeria and a government in Venezuela that hates us. Still have half a downed pipeline in Alaska and limited refining capacity (none of the new refineries being built will be ready for a while).

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Saudi royal family and the Bushes are old pals too. There is just way too much coincidence here.

I hope the American people aren't going to be duped into putting the Republicans back in office. This country definitely needs a change in governance, and only one party can lead us out of this mess. The same one that got us through two world wars and the great depression, and brought us the booming 90's. Go Dems!

Life Less Ordinary

Hearing the news today about the Crocodile Hunter being killed by a sting-ray just shocked the heck out of me. He was just swimming over it, it was buried in the sand, and whoosh - it stings him through the heart. Life is so fragile.

News like this makes me appreciate, even more, every moment I have. Nothing but a split second separates most of us from the other side (if there is one). Still, for some reason, I am not able to rejoice in every moment lived.

If I could only be sure, one way or the other, if there is something or nothing after we die, I could live my life the correct way. If there is nothing, I would find peace in knowing that all my sins do not need to be forgiven. That the spark of life that I held was just sent out into the universe. If there is heaven and hell, I would end up begging for forgiveness, every day.

If you look back at the history of the major religions we have on the planet today, it is hard to fathom that they could all be right and divinely inspired. And by divine, do we mean a creature from another part of the universe, an ET as it were? Sometimes my logical mind just takes over and I cannot get past all my doubts.

What if I lived and died in Greece in 200 BC? Would I be frying in hell because I had not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (who wasn't even here yet)? That does not seem fair, now does it?

I truly believe that if you live your life with regard for others and with kindness in your heart (and in your deeds), that you will be blessed (if there is a hereafter). Whether you consider it as reflecting God's love, or just being a good person, it should surely be rewarded.