What will I watch on TV Sunday afternoon? A quick glance at what passes for a TV guide and it’s clear that football is the choice. Not my choice, mind you, but the choice of all others. Starting with the football “preview” before lunch and running through supper, it seems, there’s football for everyone.
Or I can watch a whole afternoon of reruns of Law & Order, on the off chance there will be one segment I missed the first time around (or the 10th rerun). It’s possible there was one program that I slept through at some point.
Another channel is offering four Clint Eastwood movies. He might be a gray-haired old man, but for some of us Clint Eastwood will always be the hunk in blue jeans. And if I liked to watch movies where the spoken word doesn’t quite match up with mouth movement, I’d be all set for a day of what we used to call spaghetti westerns. I’d rather leave the sound muted and just watch.
All of this choosing what to do with my Sunday afternoon is just a way to avoid what ought to be done. Having the Yankee ethic as part of my DNA makes it really difficult to watch television or even read a book when there are dishes to be washed or floors to be swept. And the accumulation of snow makes the guilt of “doing nothing” increase but long ago I vowed never to shovel any more snow.
Meanwhile, of course, a group of four or five (it changes, according to the game) of the male specie is feeling no guilt whatsoever, as they alternately watch, speculate, groan and cheer. It’s as though this is their assignment – to sit in the back room and be spectators. No phone calls dare interrupt and any visitors must slip into the room quietly and take a seat. Greetings are saved for commercial breaks.
If the game (how can you call it a game when the players are paid as much as the CEO of major global businesses?) doesn’t turn out as desired, the angst and disappointment can be taken out via the trusty snow shovel. They’re all polished and clean, waiting to be used!
With the first layer of snow on the ground, I trust that the nosy neighborhood possum has found a place to lay low for the rest of the winter and will not be found rummaging in the recycling bin on my porch. Quite a surprise after the late news, to step out for a breath of air and come face to face with a possum! They are ugly critters and can be mean, too. Thank goodness my cats are alert and quick.
It’s always surprising to me that amid the traffic and noise of this part of North Windham, critters like possum and deer and raccoons still survive. I haven’t seen any woodchucks lately, but I know they’re planning their spring escape.
We might be a fledgling city as our population climbs higher and higher, but apparently no one has told the animals yet just where they are supposed to go, once the condos have been built. Maybe that’s what that buffer strip around developments is supposed to be for. I’ll have to check with the planning board!
See you next week.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
