Friday Distractions? | 1.16.26
It has certainly been A Week has it not? I am not a person who worries about things beyond my control… but 15 days into a New Year and I am worrying about all the things. People… so many people. Places… so many places. And things… as in what new things will pop up over night that will increase my worry level?!
So I am seeking escape… I know, I am well aware of the insane amount of undeserved privilege I have to do that… because all that worry… well, it does not change anything. (Nor apparently are any of the calls I am making to my elected representatives… that whole representative democracy thing? Yeah, it’s not working so well right now.) But I digress… back to The Privilege of Escape… I am doing that, full on.
“Trust remains the coin of the realm in politics. A President who is trusted, by the people, by the congress, by the press, by foreign countries, is a President who can get a lot of good things done.” — David Gergen, West Wing, Season 3, Episode 18
To aid me in my escape from reality, I have been watching The West Wing for the first time, yes you read that correctly…I never watched it originally. Steve says this was my Era of Not Knowing Anything… i.e. having 3 kids all very close in age meant that much of the world twirled by very oblivious me for a considerable period of time! Anyways, I am well into season 3 and episode 18 kind of stopped me in my tracks. (In fact, I immediately rewatched it!) It is a “reality infused” episode with a bunch of actual White House people (including President’s Carter and Ford) inserting some timely quips. I don’t know how timely they would have been when this episode first aired, but let me tell you… the quotes were timeless as their relevance today is shocking. (This quote particularly struck me as I realized that most all of my worries focused on the lack of trust in our current government that is being experienced by a lot of people all over the world!)
Anyways… I thought perhaps you also might not have watched West Wing. Perhaps you were in the same time warp I was in back when this was on television… or perhaps you did watch it then however maybe you need to rewatch it now!! And, as luck would have it, all seasons are available currently on Netflix. It is very good TV… the writing… the acting… it is just so good! (and it will give you something to do while you wait for the next episode of The Pitt! Ha!)
Be gentle with yourselves and spread some kindness as you go about your weekend…oh, and if you are queuing up The West Wing, let me know!
See you all back here next week!
