kadmium

A few months back, Katie proposed that we go without TV for a week. I said it sounded like an interesting idea, then chose not to discuss it further. I’m very habituated to TV. I watch a lot of TV. Too much, really, considering what I watch. I’ll watch reruns repeatedly. I could ponder on the deeper reasons why, but it ultimately comes down to wanting to be entertained without having to think. An entertainment IV, if you will. Not very satisfying and not very productive.

Katie, on the other hand is much more discriminating in her television watching, at least when I’m not at home. She rarely turns on the TV on her own. There are a few shows that get her attention, but only the first time they air. She doesn’t watch reruns.

So with the upcoming week of faux-patriotism and force-fed grief programming coming up, I told Katie that I’d be willing to try. I have to admit that the idea of a week without TV is troubling, even knowing that I would end up turning it off in disgust most evenings anyway. But this morning I sat down and skimmed through the upcoming week’s program schedule and after mentally blocking out all the September 11 memorializing, there really wasn’t much interesting on.

We’re also not subjecting ourselves to a complete media blackout. We still get the paper, we’ll still listen to Morning Edition as we get ready for our day, we might even rent some DVDs. But we won’t have the near-constant murmur of broadcast TV in the background. It’ll be different. And probably better. But I’m still going to miss my IV.