My television viewing before
cable TV became available in Little Rock (September, 1981) was limited
primarily to watching my favorite college and professional football teams, plus
playoff games in other sports. I seldom
watched TV news or other scripted programs, preferring to read newsmagazines,
the Arkansas Democrat, or The Wall Street Journal. However, we signed up for cable
television at
our earliest opportunity, attracted by
the increased viewing options offered – news/talk, nature, and “how to”
shows, as well as more extensive sports programming.
In spite of cable’s broader
offerings, my viewing increased little until riveting political events
attracted my attention in the late ‘80s:
·
1987 Senate
Judiciary Committee hearings on the appointment of Judge Robert Bork to
the United States Supreme Court.
·
1987 hearings
by the joint House/Senate committee investigating the Iran/Contra affair, featuring the interrogation of Colonel
Oliver North about arms sales to Iran, the proceeds of which sales were used to
finance operations of the “Contras” in their resistance to a communistic
Nicaraguan dictatorship.
·
1991 Senate
Judiciary Committee hearings on the appointment of Judge Clarence Thomas as
replacement for Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall on the United States Supreme
Court.
Those events were followed by
the excitement of the 1992 presidential election cycle and ensuing Clinton
administration scandals, punctuated by the nine-month 1994-95 trial, televised
live, of football star/actor O.J. Simpson for
the murder of (1) his estranged wife, Nicole, and (2) her friend, Ron Goldman.
Family responsibilities which
kept me inside a lot in 1992 and 1994-96, much of the time in front of the
tube, facilitated my becoming caught up in the excitement of news/talk shows
and the live OJ “soap opera” trial:
·
I got hooked
on CNN’s “CROSSFIRE” during our 1992 stay in Siloam Springs, helping Terry and
Gregg while she was incapacitated by a deep-vein blood clot in her leg. I missed few “CROSSFIRE” shows between February,
1992 and the 2004 presidential election.
·
My CNN-time
increased in mid-1994, when Arlette and I started sharing in caring for my
mother. During the approximately two
years before Mother entered institutional care, I spent many hours watching
news/talk television as I sat in her recliner, within earshot of her
bedroom. Taking care of her wasn’t
time-consuming, so I saw nearly all of the OJ trial, watched “BURDEN OF PROOF,”
“CAPITAL GANG,” “CNN & CO.,” “CROSSFIRE,” “INSIDE POLITICS,” “LARRY KING
LIVE,” and “TALKBACK LIVE” – all, except for “CAPITAL GANG,” daily news/talk
shows. Having become hooked on those
shows while caring for my mother, I stayed hooked even after that
responsibility ceased. One by one,
however, most of them have dropped off the air, “freeing” me from their
captivity. “BURDEN OF PROOF,” with
Roger Cossack and Greta Van Susteren, began during the OJ trial, was sustained
by the scandals of the Clinton administration, but died during the aftermath of
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as did “TALKBACK LIVE.” Mary Tillotson and her “CNN & CO.”
disappeared after the Clinton administration ended (lack of excitement?). “INSIDE POLITICS” and “LARRY KING LIVE” are
still daily CNN staples, but I’ve watched neither since the 2004 presidential
election. “CAPITAL GANG” and “CROSSFIRE”
were removed from CNN’S lineup in mid-2005.
·
CNBC began
“EQUAL TIME” in 1993 to cover political matters. “RIVERA LIVE” started during the OJ trial, as did the “CHARLES
GRODIN SHOW;” both covered the trial and Clinton administration escapades. “HARDBALL with Chris Matthews,” started at
CNBC in 1997, primarily covering political issues. The Grodin show didn’t make it through the Clinton
administration, and “EQUAL TIME” lasted only a short time after Mr. Clinton
left office. “RIVERA LIVE” ended when
Geraldo moved to Fox News Channel.
“HARDBALL with Chris Matthews” moved to MSNBC in 2002, and can still be
seen; I watched the show regularly through the 2004 presidential election, but
political struggles interest me less post-election.
I’ve
referred to the OJ trial several times in preceding paragraphs. Perhaps I should note for younger readers
and those who might have lived in a remote cave, away from civilization during
the O.J. Simpson trial, that he was accused of killing Nicole
Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman outside her apartment late in the evening of June
12, 1994. In spite of compelling
circumstantial and DNA evidence, he was found “not guilty.” I wasn’t as certain of his guilt as were
most of my acquaintances, primarily because of Nicole’s unmelted ice cream
found near midnight at the scene of the crime; that evidence would seem to have
rendered impossible the prosecutors’ contention that the murders were committed
about 10:15 PM, before O.J. boarded a flight to Chicago. I also felt that Ron Goldman was probably
murdered first, regardless of the identity of the perpetrator, and that Nicole
was killed because she walked onto the scene and could have identified the
murderer(s). The prosecution contended
(1) Nicole was murdered first, presumably because O.J. was angry with her, and
(2) Ron was killed when he walked onto the scene, intending to return
eyeglasses Nicole had inadvertently left earlier at the restaurant where he was
employed.
I like political news/talk programming
for the same reason I like sporting events – the competition. Therefore, I find public affairs programming
on cable outlets preferable to that of the broadcast networks, because one is
more likely to hear all sides of issues.
Ideological/political
competition was particularly keen during the Clinton presidential years
(1993-2001) when news/talk shows regularly dealt with allegations of illegal or
scandalous behavior within the administration; watching those shows and the
political struggles upon which they were based (e.g., congressional hearings,
impeachment proceedings in
the House of Representatives - and the subsequent Senate trial) was engrossing,
so I spent many hours observing those struggles.
I should
note, for those readers who didn’t pay attention to (or were too young to
notice) current events during the Clinton administration, that the major
allegations of illegal or scandalous behavior began with (1) the firing of the
entire White House travel office staff (non-political positions) soon after Mr.
Clinton became president, followed by (2) the discovery of hundreds of FBI
files on members of the previous administrations (illegally obtained by Clinton
operatives), and (3) questionable campaign fund-raising practices.
The
career travel office personnel were apparently fired to make room for people
the Clintons wanted to employ (including a distant cousin of the president),
but bogus charges were filed against at least one long-term employee (Billy
Dale), to make the firings look justified.
Mr. Dale was exonerated at trial, but expended his life savings on legal
fees.
Specific
reasons were never stated for the illegal acquisition of raw FBI files on
members of previous Republican administrations, but many thought the new
administration hoped to find that its predecessors had brought in persons
having the use of illegal drugs on their records, so as to justify the same
practice in the new administration, which had difficulty in obtaining security
clearances for some people it wanted to hire.
Overhanging
all other allegations and investigations was the continuous Whitewater
investigation, which originated with questions
about the Clintons’ activities in connection with a failed northern Arkansas
land deal years before they reached Washington, but was expanded to include (1)
accusations of harassment of several women by the president – both before and
after he reached the White House – and (2) his dalliances with Monica Lewinski, a White
House intern. His misleading statements
in testimony before a federal court (about various facets of his alleged
illegal/illicit behavior) in a harassment suit led to his 1999 impeachment by
the U.S. House of Representatives, followed by trial in the U.S. Senate; the
Senate didn’t convict him, so he remained in office for his full term.
I had
ambivalent feelings during the Senate trial.
I thought the president deserved removal from office, but didn’t really
wish it, for elevating Vice-President Gore to president would have given him a
“leg up” for the 2000 election, when I would prefer election of a less liberal
Republican opponent.
Had Mr. Clinton (1) been able to run for a third term (forbidden by the
22nd amendment to the U.S. Constitution) and (2) won, I might never
have taken time to finish recording these memories, for I suspect the scandals
and resultant investigations would have continued, and I would have wanted to
follow every step as it was retraced on daily TV.
◊◊◊
The relative quiet of early months of the George W. Bush administration
was shattered by the tragedy of “Plane Terror Day,” as I
call September 11, 2001, when four groups of Osama bin Laden’s terrorists
hijacked commercial airliners, flew two of them into New York’s World Trade
Center (demolishing the twin towers and several other buildings), one into the
Pentagon in Washington, and failed with the fourth when heroic passengers
fought the hijackers and caused the plane to crash in a Pennsylvania pasture
instead of reaching its target (which was probably either the White House or
the U.S. Capitol building).
Television cameras taped the second plane hitting the World Trade
Center, and were at the other crash sites almost immediately. Scenes of destruction in two major U.S.
cities were almost unbelievable.
Nearly three thousand people died as a result of September 11, 2001
terrorist actions – more than were lost at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
when the sneak Japanese attack destroyed much of the U.S. Navy and caused our
entry into World War II. “Plane Terror
Day,” played out on
television, triggered another worldwide war – this time against global
terrorism.
Television has brought us many scenes (some live) from the war against
global terrorism, beginning with attacks by armed forces of the United States
and its allies against Taliban forces in Afghanistan (who sheltered/protected Osama and his al
Queda forces); the Taliban government was quickly overthrown. President Bush next took aim at Iraq, in
accordance with his doctrine for fighting global terrorism (i.e., engaging
nations who harbor terrorists or support terrorism); Iraq’s dictator, Saddam
Hussein, had harbored and
supported terrorists, brutalized his own people, produced and used
biological/chemical weapons of mass destruction, and was feared to be nearing
success in developing nuclear weapons.
The U.S. and its allies began attacks on Iraq in March, 2003, with the
objective of “regime change;” live television showed the “shock and awe” of
precision bombing, the march into Baghdad, and toppling of Saddam statues –
followed weeks later by the bearded former dictator being removed from his
“spider hole.”
Political
support for the president’s war on terrorism hasn’t been universal,
particularly with respect to the war against Iraq, so it was a major issue
leading up to the 2004 presidential election.
Needless to say, I stayed hooked on news/talk shows through the
election.
I watched cable news/talk shows closely through the 2004 election, but
I’ve been less glued to the tube since then.
I seldom miss “SPECIAL REPORT with Brit Hume” weekdays on Fox News
Channel; on Fridays I also watch, or tape for later viewing, (1) the
Brooks/Shields analysis segment of Jim Lehrer’s “NEWSHOUR,” (2) “WASHINGTON
WEEK,” and (3) “THE McLAUGHLIN GROUP,” all on PBS. On Saturday evenings I watch “THE BELTWAY BOYS” and “FOX NEWS
WATCH” on Fox News Channel. I tape
Sunday morning news/talk programming (Tim Russert’s “MEET THE PRESS” on NBC,
ABC’s “THIS WEEK with George Stephanopolous,” Bob Schieffer’s “FACE THE NATION”
on CBS, Howard Kurtz’s “RELIABLE SOURCES” on CNN, and Chris Wallace’s “FOX NEWS
SUNDAY”) while I’m at church; I usually listen to those taped shows while (or
after) viewing Sunday afternoon sports events (e.g., NASCAR automobile races or
professional football), before returning to church for evening worship
activities.
Simultaneous
viewing of sports and listening to news/talk shows necessitates my keeping two
TVs side-by-side in our den – three if I want to watch two sporting events while
listening to news/talk.
Although news/talk shows and sporting events comprise a major portion
of my television time, I should note that I like the GAITHER HOMECOMING
telecasts, which I can view in Little Rock on Saturday evenings and at Sunday noon.
My dreams sometimes resemble television – but without bad
language. I sleep relatively lightly,
so dream constantly. Many dreams are
triggered by daytime activies (e.g., I dreamed of doing layout work when I was helping
build church structures, and some computer activities don’t cease when I go to
sleep), but several oddball dream scenarios recur frequently:
·
I’m in a
large multi-storied building, needing to use a restroom. I go from floor to floor, finding one or
more restrooms on each floor, but the commodes are damaged, filthy, or running
over, so can’t be used.
·
I’m driving
an automobile, speeding along, needing to slow down and stop, but can’t reach
brake or clutch pedals.
·
I’m back at
Howard Payne College, enrolled for courses in which I’m delinquent in both
attendance and scholarship. More often
than not, I can’t find the correct classroom at the correct time, so miss
classes.
·
I’m engaged in physical combat with an attacker, and the
dream ends with an action that is sometimes painful, e.g.:
- I once dreamed I entered a supermarket as
the perpetrator of a robbery tried to escape through the door I was using. I took him on, swinging at his chin, and woke
to find Arlette holding my arm; I had hit her in the chin. Fortunately, I hadn’t swung hard.
- Another dream, whose details I don’t
remember, took place in the cabover bed of our RV, where the headroom is less
than three feet. In that dream I kicked
at the attacker, but all I hit was the ceiling, with the big toe of my right
foot, hard and painfully.
- Similar dreams to the one just described
have occurred at home, in my own bed.
In one I was seated on a ledge above the attacker, kicking at him; in
reality, I kicked Arlette’s cedar chest about two feet away from our bed,
producing a sore big toe – on my left foot this time.
- Not long ago I dreamed I was a bystander in
an “old west” type gunfight, and one of the combatants turned toward me and began
firing, at which point I rolled over a wall behind me to escape the bullets and
awoke when I hit the floor between our bed and Arlette’s cedar chest.
- In other nocturnal “combat” situations I
have wakened (or Arlette wakens me) as I flail away at the bedclothes with
either fists or feet, but before I have incurred or caused pain.
The cause of the “filthy restroom” dream is understandable; I really do
need to use a bathroom at the time I’m dreaming, so soon wake up, get up, and
remedy the problem. I hope I never find
a clean restroom in one of my dreams – for the sake of my attire and our bed.
I don’t understand why I dream about unreachable automobile pedals,
school delinquency, or violence. I’ve
never been in a situation where I couldn’t stop an automobile; I didn’t miss
classes in college (except when the location of Mrs. Hargrove’s Speech class
was changed without my knowledge, so I missed a session or two before finding
it), and I seldom was behind in my work; I’ve never been inclined toward physical
combat, other than boxing college and Navy friends.
While I
often dream of being back in college, I can remember only one dream in which I
was back in the Navy, and it occurred relatively recently. I dreamed I was assigned combat duty in a
Russian submarine, but woke up before boarding it; I can’t imagine what brought
on such a weird dream.
That I am often of college age in my dreams must mean I’m still just a
nineteen-year-old kid trapped in the body of a seasoned citizen.
Aging gracefully seems impossible for this nineteen-year-old kid trapped in a
senior’s body. Consider the following
complications:
·
Steps are higher than they used to be, and shoes are
heavier. How can one be graceful while struggling
to lift brogan-weight shoes up higher steps?
·
Either clocks run faster or miles are longer that they once
were. A 2.14 mile walk (130 “figure 8”
laps around the vehicles in our carport) takes about forty minutes to
complete; I used to walk two miles in little more than half an hour.
·
When I walk the streets, I’m seldom more than halfway
across an intersection when the “WALK” signal changes to “DON’T WALK.” Am I supposed to (1) stop midway (risking
life and limb), (2) get down on hands and knees and crawl (instead of walk), or
(3) try to run (risking coronary disaster)?
·
Printing in books, magazines, and newspapers is both
fainter and smaller. Ink is saved, but
why is there no concern for my eyes?
·
I’ve noticed people on my left mumble, but those to my
right speak clearly. Is my right ear
bigger, like an ear trumpet? Is there
political significance to the left/right anomaly?
·
Understanding people to my left isn’t helped by the
perpetual ringing I hear in that ear.
·
Foods aren’t as healthful.
I once could eat anything without distress (I sometimes ate chili at two
o’clock in the morning during college days), but many of today’s foods aren’t
as happy in my digestive tract as were those of years gone by; it’s probably
the preservatives.
·
While not as healthful, foods are more fattening. That factor, combined with quick-shrinking
trouser waistbands, enables me to appreciate ladies’ dislike for corsets.
·
Shirts are skimpier around the waistline, so buttons
sometimes pop off.
·
Beds are less comfortable.
I wake up somewhat stiff most mornings, and have to stretch like an old
dog to unlimber enough to get my feet on the floor, whereas I once could spring
from bed like a cat; further, when I’m up and dressed, ready to put on my
shoes, I sometimes have to bend over twice just to reach them.
·
Automobiles aren’t as comfortable as they once were. I could drive all day without discomfort in
my vehicles of the ‘40s and ‘50s; nowadays my back, hips, and right leg protest
after a couple of hours. Manufacturers
obviously cut back on comfort items to recoup some of the costs of reaching
federally-mandated fuel efficiency standards.
Periodic back spasms (or threats thereof) don’t help toward presenting
a youthful appearance. Walking erectly
and sprightly is difficult when lower back muscles threaten to knot with
practically any bend, twist, or turn.
My first
back spasms hit some years ago when I awkwardly lifted a power mower into a position
where I could work under it; I could hardly move, but managed to get into our
den, where I collapsed on the carpet, thinking the spasms would soon stop. Four hours elapsed before I could rise from
the den floor, and then only with help from Arlette; a hot shower and overnight
in bed finally brought relaxation of knotted muscles. When a similar attack occurred some months later I headed
straight for the hot shower, then bed, and was again mobile the next morning. Subsequent twinges haven’t led to
immobility, perhaps because the onsets haven’t been as sudden or serious, and
I’ve been able to take steps (an exercise regimen) to prevent anything other
than (1) a bit of pain and (2) inability to easily and fully straighten up for
a day or two.
◊◊◊
I still have one youthful body part – a gold-capped “baby tooth.” I had two baby teeth until I was past seventy.
Dr. Willard Reed, who capped the one I have left, told me I should have
had nothing to cap, that the roots of both baby teeth should have long ago
withered and loosened (leaving me with gaps instead of caps). A gap is all I have left at the other site
now, for the tooth broke off at the gum, and Dr. Johnny Hatley removed the
remainder. So I’m left with a gold cap
on one side and a big gap on the other.