Basking In The Glow

If you ask me what I like to do, the list is pretty short. My pleasures are few, but one that ranks near the top is my love for television. I love to watch TV. It my be hereditary. My dad could watch TV while the house burned around him. It may have been his way of escaping the madness that a house with five sons brought, but I think it went deeper. I could spend days in front of the television. I know it "rots the mind" and is a "vast wasteland", but so is Nevada and I still dig Vegas. Over the last few days, my love has been enhanced in a way that I never dared dream.

"Wife" awoke Saturday morning and immediately told me that we needed to "upgrade" our television. After checking her for a fever, I wondered aloud what she was talking about. "Well our old TV is too small for the new Family room." She then looked at me like I was the dumbest being to ever walk erect. How does one argue with that kind of logic. Our TV did seem a little small. When we bought it a few years ago, we were living in a house in California that at best could be described as "cozy". Our family room was pretty small, so the 36 inch Sony seemed to dwarf us. It was a top of the line set in it's day. When we bought it, we spent more on it than I ever imagined spending on a TV. "Wife" justified that purchase by simply saying, "that's what we like to do." When she's right, she's right.

If you haven't bought a television lately, are you in for a shock. The choices will test your knowledge of physics, spatial relations and fiscal judgment. You don't just talk to a salesman, you talk to a "Home Theater Consultant". That would be fine if all the "consultants" were operating from the same playbook. Every guy we talked to had different information. Plasma is good for this, DLP is great for that, LCD means you wipe your butt with hundred dollar bills. After hours of exhaustive research both on-line and in the stores, we decided on the TV I had liked right out of the blocks. We are now the proud owners of a 61 inch Samsung DLP/HD TV. Yeah, dig me. Don't hate the player, hate the fact that the player will be watching the game on his monster TV.

I may never leave the house again. Not only is the TV great, I hooked up a home theater system. Now I sit in the Comfort King and know how the other half lives. I watched a movie last night and realized I may never have to venture out to the local cineplex for the rest of my natural days. Why subject my delicate psyche to yappy teens, crying babies and people who scarf down buckets of popcorn like freed hostages? Thanks to "Wife's" bout of Bears Fever, we have created our own video oasis. I may spill some Pepsi on the floor so I don't miss out on the whole theater experience. It was actually hard to pull myself away from the TV's siren song long enough to write this. I fear that I have embraced the thing that will prove to be my ultimate demise. Oh well, if I've gotta go, I'll do it with a crystal clear picture and surround sound. Later...Brian