It's Hip to be Square

I admit it. I am part of of a minority. But I can not hide it much longer.... as I visit blog after blog, friend after friend, it becomes apparent that the time to simply come out with the truth cannot be put off any longer.

I don't watch American Idol.
There. I said it. And I hope that those of you who are "normal" will still like me just a little, quirk and all.

I don't know when this whole quirky thing happened for me. I started out adult life just fine...watched Entertainment Tonight at least two or three times a week, knew who was divorcing whom, and even sat through personal interviews from the likes of Vanna White.
Every year I faithfully watched the Oscars and once in awhile, even a Golden Globe.
And of course the Emmy's. I was there to see Susan Lucci give her annual good-natured smile year after year after snubbed year...

And of course there were the sitcoms. I watched Seinfield and Cheers and even Designing Women. Oh, I was a hip single gal, let me tell ya'.

But something happened soon after I got married. I know it hasn't happened to most of you, but that's OK, because this is my story.
Something slowly...subtly began to change and I started watching more of that new channel called HGTV. Not the Food Channel though...not yet...that would come later...

Oh, it was innocent enough at first...just a few minutes here and there while channel surfing in-between sitcoms. Soon, though, I was watching whole episodes at a time and before I knew it, I was noticing when Suzanne Whong from House Hunters grew out her bangs.

I wasn't completely a lost cause yet, though...after my first baby was born, I became part of the mass of viewers glued to the set each week for Survivor. Hubby would sometimes watch with me to be nice, but he could take it or leave it. But this was before we had two TV's so he usually had to take it, and be quiet about it...especially at the end when they all gathered around the smug young guy with the torch, as the next victim was kicked off island- crying bitter tears because she no longer could fry up grasshoppers for dinner with people she loathed. It was all so intense and I wondered how I would endure until the next Thursday.

But...somehow...after two seasons...I began to strangely not care. I can't explain why...only that the pull of what they would find hidden behind 100 year old houses began to lure me with "If Walls Could Talk"...and then....

Then, I was actually flipping over to the Food Network and watching Paula Deen and wishing she were related to me so she'd come over with her homey accent and fix me some southern fried chicken and sweet tea...
and then came the real excitement- "The Next Food Network Star"!
Talk about a nail-biting reality show...those poor contestants would have to rattle on and cook in front of the judges without making a dork out of themselves or it was curtains!

(And speaking of curtains, those 20-something kids on Design on a Dime could whip up gorgeous drapes out of a moth-eaten bedspread, don't you think?)

In the mornings, it's a different world altogether, though. When I allow television time before 5 pm, my world consists of The Disney Channel and PBS.Kids. (Those Backyardians are really talented!)

So...there you have the whole, sorted tale. And the sad fact is, that my 78 year old aunt, as well as my mom who turned 80 watch American Idol faithfully. In fact, Mom seems to know all the young, hip celebrities and keeps me informed if someone gets married, has a face lift or passes away in Hollywood.
But unless their from the old movies, I have to ask who she's talking about. Most of the time, she mentions someone under 30 and then I haven't the vaguest idea who it is she's talking about.

There's something strangely backwards about this scenereo...

But it works out alright. Between my cable channels and the Nick Jr. shows that my children watch, I keep her current, as well. She would be none the wiser if it wasn't for me telling her who won the "Ace of Cakes" ...and of course, you can imagine how totally informed I felt the day I casually mentioned that Go Diego Go was actually Dora's cousin. The woman had no clue, even though it was old news.

So, I'll stay warmly in my little bubble here, watching my little shows....while you talk amongst yourselves about "24" and "Lost". (Nope, never saw them either...not even once! Just have heard about them on the streets...)

Besides, I like to remember Paula Abdul the way she was....when she was dancing with a cartoon animal on VH1. That's when entertainment was true entertainment.