20 February 2007

Cruelty, thy name is public broadcasting

Poor Dennis. In addition to his regular rather grueling work schedule which involves waking at 4:30, he's working on two MBA classes and fathering an infant and a toddler. And he's doing a lot of laundry. A whole lotta laundry.
Which means the poor man doesn't get much time to relax, and whenever there is time to relax, there are lots of "shoulds" hanging over him -- he should be studying or playing with a kid or doing laundry or whatever.
Last night as he was dutifully trying to hammer out some homework, I turned on PBS. Now perhaps only those who know Dennis will sympathize, but Antiques Roadshow was on and seemed to be focusing on guns, maps, and history. Then American Experience was about the building of the New York subway. To top it off, the next show was about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. I watched the programs on really low volume with the captions on. He managed to come into the room only about 20 times. After that, I turned it all off.
Poor guy. When PBS hits back, it can really hurt.
But, as he pointed out, if the universe were really aligned against him, tonight would have been programs on the Trans-continental railroad, the use of modern firearms in winning World Wars, and the engineering of the Erie canal. And Friday, when there is plenty of time to indulge in a little television, there would be a four-hour marathon on wildflowers in North America.
As it was, he had lots of time tonight to play with Annalivia, hold Daniel, fold laundry AND do homework. All of this, but no tv. Maybe next Monday will work out for him.

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