Why ER? Why now? Why me?

For the past couple of months, the missus and I have been watching "ER," the television series based around the emergency room of a hospital in Chicago.  I want to say something witty or disparaging or ironic right away so that you'll know that I'm not the kind of person who watches ER.  But, as it turns out, I am exactly the kind of person who watches ER and watches it relentlessly.  And so is my wife. 

We've been watching past years on DVD, of course, so we get all the control and none of the commercials.  We might, on a good night, watch four, five episodes.  We might take my laptop on vacation so we can watch on the plane.  We might put the kids to bed a tiny bit early so we can watch one before bed.  We might spend much of our waking time thinking about when we can watch another episode. 

And in the course of all this watching, it has occurred to me that ER is a very good thing.  I'm not even going to say it's a good show because, in many ways, it is not.  The acting is uneven, the plotlines are syrupy when they're not downright unbelievable, the attempts at comedy are pathetic.  That's all true.

Yet, I've discovered that every single time I watch ER, something comes up that makes me reflect on what I guess you'd call "real life."   Sometimes it's an epiphany.  Sometimes it's a dull surprise.  Sometimes I can feel a connection being made between something I'd felt and something I only thought I knew. 

Sometimes watching ER basically gets me so filled up with stuff that I feel like I have to share or I will bust.  The missus has been a very sympathetic ear at these times.  But I felt like maybe that was just a start.  If you believe something, it's worth telling people.  And so, this blog.

Comments

[unnamed stranger]

i like ER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Inanna]

aw, you know...those bearded medical specialists all look alike...*L*