It's so good to have good television back on. As much as I respected the writers' need to strike, I hated it. I was tired of the re-runs, tired of the really stupid stuff they pulled out of the reject pile and showed because they had nothing else to show. Then there were the new reality & game shows. Public idiocy has reached a new level of insanity in the past few months. Ai-yi-yi!


I like television. I know that's really not PC, but it's true. My husband has tried over the years to convince me that I don't really want to have a TV, and he's never found an argument he could win with. I avoid most comedy, since there's barely one of those shows that is not filled with gratuitous inappropriateness, but I love a drama. While I stay away from the truly gritty stuff, I do tend towards crime fighting and medical and supernatural sorts of shows, where we get to see the bad guys caught. My husband doesn't share most of my taste in television. He flat out dislikes a far amount of what I watch--he doesn't disapprove, he just doesn't enjoy or appreciate it. We've talked about why I watch this stuff, what draws me to it . . . and I think it comes down to two things.


First, I like to see the triumph of the human spirit. Really, really horrific things happen in this world. There are awful people who do awful things and amazing people who live through those things. There are also those who clean up; law enforcement, doctors & firefighters and, well, vampire slayers. It's not the evildoers that interest me, don't worry :) It is those who live through the evilness and go on to be happy and those who clean up the messes. I have great respect for people with those kinds of jobs partially because it takes a special kind of person, one I am not.


Second, it makes me feel better to see the resolution. Media often relays the news about the worst elements of society and we never hear anything after the initial story, we just hear the terrible stuff. Newspapers and newscasts are enough to really scare me these days. When a single episode or a story arc takes us from the Bad Thing Happening, to the Bad Guy Gets Got, or Person Gets Better, or Eventually Everything is Okay, I feel safer. I feel like even though this doesn't happen every time in real life, it probably happens sometimes and there is hope. It reminds me to have faith in law enforcement (despite corruption), in medical personnel (despite malpractice), and in the absolute truth that Good will triumph over Evil, always, eventually.


Anyway, I'm happy that May sweeps are almost here and I the writers are writing again! Now, on to something else. While in Idaho I had the chance to sample some of the best butter toffee that exists. I got it at Walgreen's, and I didn't have any idea what I was in for. Now, I think most of the rest of what this company makes tastes fairly nasty (I got the gift pack sampler, so that is how I know), but this stuff? This stuff is to die for. Crunchy, not to hard or too soft, not too sweet, buttery, buttery, buttery. Seriously, this is about my new 2nd place favorite candy, right after Dan's Chocolates (which are worth every penny of their considerable expense). As Oobi would say, "tasty-good". No Oobi bashing in the comments, okay? He's one of my favorite baby shows :)