It含羞草研究社檚 five o含羞草研究社檆lock. Time to watch the local TV news. But my body refuses to rise out of my easy chair.
I realize I don含羞草研究社檛 want to watch the news. Any news.
We have only one TV channel here in the Okanagan. Everything else comes from outside: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto含羞草研究社nd from dozens of U.S. cities. Over 500 channels available.
But only one local news channel whose one-hour program depends heavily on video of fires, accidents, and sports highlights. It含羞草研究社檚 followed by half an hour of the Global Network含羞草研究社檚 national news, which depends heavily on war footage, mass shootings, and talking heads trying to convince us that they含羞草研究社檝e been right all along. Then a half-hour repeat of the juiciest bits of the earlier hour of local fires, accidents, and sports.
Somehow, this isn含羞草研究社檛 the world I wanted to retire into.
An insurance company used to promote 含羞草研究社淔reedom 55.含羞草研究社� It sold the notion that by investing with them, I could retire at 55 to something resembling Donald Trump含羞草研究社檚 Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. With someone much younger than me. Who mixes excellent Margaritas.
Freedom 55 has been replaced by Reverse Mortgages. So that when I die 含羞草研究社� which I will, inevitably 含羞草研究社� I can leave less to my family.
Assuming that all of us haven含羞草研究社檛 been bombed, shot, burned, frozen, scorched, drowned, or suffocated by then.
TV news just doesn含羞草研究社檛 appeal to me anymore. After yet another mass shooting in the U.S., I got so turned off guns that I resolved not to watch any program that culminates in a shoot-out.
That cuts my viewing options by at least 50 per cent.
It leaves me mostly with programs on public service channels: CBC across Canada, Knowledge Network here in B.C., PBS in the U.S含羞草研究社�.
The Brits, somehow, manage to create lively, entertaining, and even funny murder mysteries that don含羞草研究社檛 conclude with a shoot-out: Death in Paradise, Vera, Morse, Lewis, Endeavour, Midsomer Murders含羞草研究社ustralia and New Zealand do the same with Miss Fisher, Brokenwood, Dr. Blake含羞草研究社� Canada含羞草研究社檚 Murdoch Mysteries sets a standard for literacy and historical research 含羞草研究社� along with convoluted plots.
But in a sense, all of these are escapism. They take me to a world where people are generally decent to each other. Where criminals let themselves be handcuffed without struggle. They commit murders,true 含羞草研究社� but they含羞草研究社檙e nice about it.
Doc Martin can even be rude nicely.
It含羞草研究社檚 not the world I see on the nightly news. Maybe it含羞草研究社檚 a world that never existed, except in my imagination.
I含羞草研究社檓 tired of seeing emaciated children die of starvation. Of seeing people heaving rubble aside with their bare hands to rescued buried relatives. Of watching political leaders malign each other, with no indication they含羞草研究社檝e ever actually talked with the other person. Of hearing about corporate CEOs getting a multi-million bonus for laying off thousands of staff. And of corporations raking in record profits while making the planet less livable.
I don含羞草研究社檛 like it. And I含羞草研究社檓 slowly realizing I don含羞草研究社檛 have to like it.
Maybe I含羞草研究社檓 kidding myself. Maybe I含羞草研究社檓 just pulling the covers up over my head, hoping that the monster under the mattress will go away. Maybe I含羞草研究社檓 guilty of escapism.
Regardless, I含羞草研究社檓 voting with my 含羞草研究社渙ff含羞草研究社� button.
Jim Taylor lives in Lake Country: rewrite@shaw.ca
