Friday night I took a little time off from my super-glamorous and always exciting life as a single urbanite to sit home, fight off the Avian Flu, and watch the long-awaited Knots Landing Reunion. The moment I got home, I called my mom to make sure she knew it was on.
A needless call. Of course she knew. This is my mom, afterall. If she had her way Aaron Spelling will be canonized the moment he goes to the big casting call in the sky.
Like many men who use sports as a way to relate to their fathers, my mom and I have decades of television watching to connect us. Knots Landing was a big favorite. And of course there was Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Fantasy Island, Love Boat, a slew of sitcoms, and every police drama to hit the small screen. In a time before VCRs and TiVo it's a wonder how we fit it all in.
My mom's addiction, long thought as a way to unwind or pass time, came to a head during the O.J. Simpson trial. It was during my requisite post-college year to live at home that I figured out that my mom watches way too much T.V. She kept up on every little detail of the trial and gave me a daily update, whether I wanted one or not.
One day some forensic screw ups came to light. Nobody besides the prosecution was more frustrated than my mom.
"Quincy wouldn't have messed up like that," she said, clearly pissed off.
Was she for real? I was hoping against hope she would start laughing. But there was this scarily long pause. I was going to have to go in and pull her out.
"Ha, ha. Good one. Yeah, well Trapper John M.D. and Gonzo would have saved Nicole in the first place! They wouldn't have needed a stinkin trial then," I replied in earnest, then waited.
Mom? Mommy?
She snapped back to her old self and smiled. I breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.
"Gonzo was cute," she said.
"Oh, yeah. Sure was."
Like a child of an alcoholic who knows to tread lightly with booze, I’m aware that I have the genetic predisposition to watch an unhealthy amount of television. I can be a half an hour into Trading Spouses: Meet your New Mommy before I know what hit me. I haven't had cable in 8 years, only because I know I'll become a shut-in 10 minutes after the Comcast guy leaves my apartment.
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5 comments:
I understand this problem. Dee thinks the people on her shows are real; I think she is still sending Christmas cards to the cast of Dawson's Creek and wondering why she doesn't get replies.
She'll be at Joey's (I mean Katie's)wedding to Tom Cruise, right? Maybe you can sing.
Gonzo was hot! My mom and I had a crush on him too. However, like our decade plus long crush on George Clooney, we knew it was probably never gonna happen :(
A girl can dream . . . .
Holy crow - FALCON CREST. With the first Mrs. Reagan and her unshakeable helmet head . . . and OH! I love you, Lorenzo Lamas!
I need to get a life.
I have one friend who I have to routinely tell, "You know they're not really your Friends."
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