Good Afternoon folks. I know I keep saying that these Wednesday posts are ending and one of these days, I’ll mean it. You’ve been enjoying, I hope, my Saturday posts in the last couple weeks. The stories of what made mom, Mom. Those will of course continue until there aren’t any more stories to tell (without getting into real specific detail).

Aside from watching the Hatfields and McCoys in the last couple nights, the television screen has been dark. What a nice sound the silence is sometimes. It’s interesting to learn, for me anyway, what kind of trouble I can get into when not parked in front of the idiot box. It may be better put to say, re-learn what kind of trouble I can get into when not parked on the couch. If I step outside of myself and look at how I’m spending my time, particularly in the last 3 or 4 years, and look at it from say my father’s standpoint, I’m left shaking my head in disbelief. I’ve let myself get wrapped up in these ‘reality’ shows to the point where what were once passions of mine, had been laid by the wayside. One of which is music. Not listening to it but playing and recording it. My mother gave me a lot but skill (such as it is) and love of playing music came from my father. At a very early age, he was encouraging the craft. He bought me a set of drums for my 5th birthday (which I still have) and spent countless hours helping me practice.

I’ve said here on these blogs and even privately, that if we ever met in person, I probably wouldn’t have ten words to say to anyone. You would be doing all the talking. While playing music together my father always said that I was talking to him. He played keyboards and he was right, even if my voice didn’t make a peep. Put a guitar in my hands and I’ll talk for hours. Often times it wouldn’t be anything recognizable, but it’ll have a flow to it.

What I’ve allowed myself to do, especially in the last few years, is become engrossed with ‘reality’ television. If there’s a heaven and it’s occupants can look back at us, my parents are probably shaking their heads with a WTF look on their faces. A look that asks why I’ve let myself become infatuated with these characters on the screen to the point they take precedence over what once were my real passions. In the past several months, I’ve found myself asking, is it worth the complete investment of the time? The answer is no. It isn’t a total waste though in that I’ve met a lot of wonderful people online through my obsession with ‘reality TV’. I’ve also met a lot of great folks with my other interests as well, not just ‘reality TV’, Photography being another of those interests. Many of you already know that about me. Almost since I came to these blogs I’ve been posting links to photos. This year, actually it was around Christmas 2011, I decided to blend these two interests and put them into video form. One of my efforts, shown below is the result of that blend. Many or perhaps all, have seen this before.

Both pursuits are much more worthwhile to me than anything the idiot box has to offer. I don’t mean that as if to say I’m swearing off of TV or even reality TV. We all have our guilty pleasures and for me, these blogs about reality TV have become more of a pleasure than the realty shows themselves. I have my favorites among these TV characters but none are worth giving up my passions for. That, my friends, is my reality check. It isn’t really any great revaluation and you’re all no doubt saying  something along the lines of ‘no shit Sherlock’.  However, I’m reasonably certain that there have been trivial things in everyone’s lives that they let go of or lost sight of, what was more important to them. So, what was / is Your reality check?

Is this some sort of sappy swansong announcing my exit? Absolutely not. When I leave, I’ll just quietly leave. Is it a shameless attempt at self promotion? Not really but you can look at it that way if you want to. Since Empress told me I can blog about whatever I want and since today I choose not to blog reality TV, there it is.

MTH