Me and Ali McGraw

I remember watching Ali McGraw being interviewed on some talk show when she had just been hired for Dallas (I think it was Dallas, it was one of those prime-time soaps). I have never forgotten her saying that she didn't watch TV, had never seen the show, and envied those who had time to watch tv, because she never seemed to. She went on to talk about her visit to China or some such far-away place, and I thought, yeah, sure, she's real jealous of all of us staying home watching our TV while she's traveling to far-off lands. But, as time went on and my life became busier, I began to see that perhaps she was not being disingenuous. And the other day I did a mental checklist of how much television I watch every week, and realized that it wasn't very much. Certainly not when compared to how much I watched when I was in my late teen and early twenties. At least I think I watched more then. And I certainly do wish I had more time-but to read books, not watch tv. There have been many letters to the NY Daily News from people complaining that since the switch to digital tv they do not get as many channels as they did prior to the switch. My response is, if they are still getting 7 channels, and can't find anything decent to watch, they probably should find something else to do. But that's just me. I think if I lived alone the tv would gather dust, in more ways than one. Whew-good thing nobody reads this blog.