Reality Check

I like background noise. When I'm reading or working its nice to have some sort of distraction filing the periphery because it actually helps me focus on what I'm doing. Usually whatever is buzzing around goes in one ear and out the other and settles into a peaceful, droning hum. Every now and then an occasional phrase or sentence catches my attention and then I go back to work with little interruption to my concentration.

 

 A few nights ago I was researching a few ideas for this blog and, as usual, there was TV show on that I was paying virtually no attention to. The premise is about a single man who is surrounded by an entire flock of beautiful women, from which he must eventually try and select someone to potentially marry. At his whim and leisure he chooses women to go on dates with and they swim and go on vacations and horseback ride and make out and the list of perks is quite endless. But, at the end of each episode he must eliminate a lady or two from contention by sending them home.

 

 I was doing a phenomenal job of ignoring this show because I think it represents pretty much everything I can't stand about what entertainment has devolved into. But, I realize we all like different things and 'to each their own.' Anyway, I know I can be overly opinionated and look for arguments where there aren't any to be found. I'm learning to let things go and that I should focus my aggravation on things that matter.

 

 And I was doing a great job for a long time... I was really trying. But then the guy on the show said something so utterly insensitive and ignorant that I couldn't contain myself. I went off on a tirade and my wife almost asked me to leave the room, and politely reminded me that no one was forcing my to watch the show in the first place. Point taken, so I thought I'd write about it.

 

 "I've never had a problem like this. It's tearing me apart."

 

 That was the statement uttered by the young man when he couldn't decide which girls he liked the most and which he would have to send home. Um... Problem? Every day our residents, and readers of this blog, face real problems. The kind that keep them up at night because these problems don't have commercial breaks to interrupt them. These problems revolve less around which wine to have with dinner and address whether or not the next paycheck is going to keep the heat on.

 

 I was incensed that he had the gall to equate his dilemma with people who strive to solve and overcome real setbacks everyday. The kind that determine life and death and not who gets to have a picnic bonfire while watching the sunset in Malibu. Entertainment     has many purposes and one of those is to offer an escape from reality for a few minutes and there's nothing wrong with that; As long as we recognize reality isn't a TV show for most of us.

 

 Thanks for truly assisting us as we address real issues faced by genuine people we share a community with. We appreciate the difference you make win every donation and volunteered shift to contribute towards a greater good that really matters. There are heartfelt problems we all face and its encouraging to know that we are in this fight to address homelessness together.