The Lydster (Part 14): "24"

Before she was born, I decided that I was going to keep a journal of my thoughts about Lydia as she was about to enter my life. And before she was born, I did write to her a number of times. But since then, nothing. I got caught up in the busy-ness of life with her. This electronic outlet has allowed me to write about her in a way I was somehow unable to put down before.

I don't want to write primarily about how well she's walking or how she says "Uh, oh" when she drops something, though both are quite endearing. I want to talk about how she's affected me (besides sleep deprivation).

So, naturally, I need to talk about the television series "24". The two-hour season finale was Monday night; I didn't see it. I watched the first season intently, and thought the first 13 episodes made up a fine story arc, though the remaining 11 episodes stretched credibility (amnesia, the Perils of Kim Bauer). Still I was willing to try it a second season, and I watched, though not as regularly. Super Jack Bauer, suffering intense torture did all THAT?

Carol and I discovered she was pregnant in July 2003. When the third season of "24" came around, I just didn't feel like subjecting myself, and by extension, our unborn child, to such violent vibes. I didn't see the fourth season, and won't watch the fifth one when it starts up again in January.

It changed my movie viewing habits, too. Mystic River is a movie that, three years ago, would have gone to see in a heartbeat, but now: a film about an abused child who becomes the accused in the murder of his childhood friend's teenaged daughter? No, thanks. A few months after Lydia was born, my in-laws in Oneonta watched Lydia will we went to the movies. There were only two choices at that particular theater: Man on Fire with Denzel Washington trying to save Dakota Fanning from being abducted (and FAILING), or Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls. Lindsay won.

(Incidentally, no spoiler alert needed: the information I cited came from the trailers of those films.)

My family was visiting shortly after Lydia was born. They were watching CSI; I was reading the paper. But I couldn't help but to note that the plot was something like this: a couple kills their own kid because they were afraid the kid would get some debilitating disease or die from a pesticide, or some such, which the kid (as it turns out) was NOT subject to. Oh, YUCK!

I need uplifting or funny or fun or silly. That's where I am right now. So it will be a LONG while before I see Frank Miller's Sin City movie, no matter how stylized the violence is.

Getting back to "24", I found it humorous that not one, but two people I know, who are connoisseurs of the program, Mark McGuire of the (Albany) Times Union -who I bug occasionally, and Fred G. Hembeck (April 8-12, et al.) -who I bug more than occasionally, managed to tape or TiVo "24" this season, then fell weeks behind, only to catch up in marathon sessions. What's THAT all about? BTW, it was Fred who put my feelings about the show best in his May 24 column: "I mean, I know it's just a TV show and all, but the always mounting body count can be disturbing at times, especially considering the number of completely innocent people who are so casually slaughtered along the way, y'know?" Yeah, I DO know.

So, happy 14 months, Lydia. I've learned a lot about me through you.
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The JEOPARDY! Ultimate Tournament is over. And the winner is..I DON"T KNOW. I'm still a week behind, so PLEASE don't tell me, don't ask. I know Jerome is one finalist (and Ken Jennings, of course, is another,) but I haven't seen the last pair of semi-final games, nor the three-day final. My wife knows the results, so talk with HER about it.