On LOST

O.K. I have been one of the last Americans to jump on the Lost bandwagon. Usually, if something comes on regular television – I don’t watch it – for a couple of reasons. We don’t really get local chanels with any clarity and regularity. I don’t want to start watching something and then not be able to see it the next week. And secondly, with 3 televisions in the house and 5 people, I don’t usually get to watch what I want. Franklin or Elijah are on one playing xbox. Isaiah doesn’t really understand the concept of taking turns with television, and after having to have several discussions regarding profanity and sex with Elijah who would watch what I wanted to watch – I thought I’d extend his innocence just a bit. And then there’s papa. Who only wants to watch Spanish television – so if he’s watching television, and it’s not soccer, then he’s alone with that t.v. As an aside, his current favorite show is called the 12 hearts. It’s a game show where 7 girls and 5 boys do what appears to be really stupid stuff and then pick who they want to be with. Sort of like a hoochie mama dating game. And at the end, the strangers are sucking face so hard that I’m pretty sure the man from the dyson commercials is going to come and offer them a job.

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago, Jason emailed and said that he had been watching Lost – and that he wouldn’t mind seeing additional episodes. So I went to abc.com and found out that they were all online. I had seen the season 4 past, present and future premier and thought the show looked pretty interesting. So I decided to just watch the first episode and see how / why the plane crashed. And there it was… my first taste… I was a LOST whore. It’s not high brow entertainment. I’m sure my friend Steven, from high school, could find the hidden symbolism and discuss the metaphysical meaning behind each turn of grass. But me, well I sit and stare, open mouthed. And every so often, I jump in startlement. Sometimes, I blurt out – “he’s crazy” or “I don’t like him.” And most episodes, I’ll say “what IS that thing in the forest?” But every single episode, I say… what’s gonna happen next… and that’s the draw. I want to know what is going to happen. And they leave you hanging. It’s worse even than when I was watching Days of Our Lives in the dorm. And they’d get you to that point where something good was really going to happen, and then they would simply slap a commercial in your face.

And so my obsession has grown. I am almost ½ way finished with season 3. I no longer dread getting up an hour early, because now, I can watch an entire episode before I have to wake up the boys. And I have been watching about 2 episodes a night. So, I’m about to reach the edge.. when I’ll have to wait for an entire week for the next episode… and I’m not too happy about it. But I’ll survive.

And before I leave – here are some Lost commentaries – since I’ve no one to talk to about it. Everyone else has been watching it all along and are not quite so excited as I am.

Jack: you know, he’s a bit whiney. I keep seeing Party of Five and it seems that he’s kept within the same character frame: grumpy, whiny guy who doesn’t get his way and isn’t too happy about it. I like him fine. He seems smart and relatively rational.

Locke: he’s got a pedofile feel to me. I don’t know why. Sometimes, I think – he’s o.k. and other times – I think he’s off his rocker and a danger to the world in general.

Ann Lucia – I am sort of glad she had the drinking and driving thing and had to be killed off. She was just to ghetto for me. I didn’t really believe that she was a good cop.

Ecko – His death made me think that the writers decided that the tail-survivor thing was not such a good idea – really. Except maybe for Rose’s husband.

Charlie – O.K. I know he dies and how – I saw that part. And once you get over the “he’s a hobbit” thing – he’s not bad. Though to be honest, once he kicked his heroin habit, I didn’t really care that much about him.

BEN – he’s really creepy – I don’t like him. Though he does look like he should be a techie on CSI somewhere. I think they should let Sayid torture him forever.

Sayid – He’s got the basset hound eyes that sort of get on my nerves. I mean, I want him to have mean, grumpy, hard eyes because he tortures people. And sometimes I think – he’s hot – and sometimes I think – uh, maybe not so hot. I felt really bad when Shannon died, but figure his Arabian girlfriend will probably show up on the island sometime from some weird water skiing incident.

Hurley – LOVE HIM!!! He’s got a way with the word Dude that I find appealing. I spend a lot of time judging the frizziness of his hair and thinking how much I’d hate having that long frizzy hair on the island and wouldn’t this be a good time to cut it. Apparently they have utensils for everything, but no scissors. And I felt really bad for him when Libby died. And also am glad that he didn’t take a gun, because I don’t want Hurley to kill anyone.

Kate – I don’t trust her, so I can’t really like her.

Sawyer – I trust him more than Kate. He seems to be a good guy who’s tried a long time to be bad – where as she’s just bad. I don’t like that line he has between his eyes that really folds when he does that I’m pissed glare.

Michael - I'm hoping that he gets killed. Don't care how it messes Walt up. He needs a better role model anyway. If I hear, "he's my boy. where's my boy" one more time, I might hurl.

Walt - you know he killed that bird when his awful, selfish mother wasn't listening to him.

THINGS THAT BOTHER ME IN GENERAL:
what airplane has that many blankets and plastic tarps. And why, if you were stranded on a desert island, would you continue to bury people in your blankets and plastic tarps, when you may need them eventually?
No matter how long I spend in the ocean or in a mountain stream, I never, but never, look that clean and freshly washed.
Has anyone seen any toothpaste or toothbrushes. Except for Sun showing Walt how to brush teeth with some bush in the beginning, I haven’t seen anyone brush their teeth – that bothers me.
The girls seem to still have perfectly manicured eyebrows – really that’s what they are going to do with their time?
and no girls seem to be growing armpit hair – but the men can’t get a close shave on their faces. How does that happen.
What loser was part of the beginning group that they brought such hideous music.
Where does the electrical power come from?
When the guy was using the toilet in one of the stations – where was that plumbing going to? A septic tank?

Alright. I feel better. Most of it’s out. And it’s almost my computer / tv watching time.

On Creative Punishments

Today, Franklin and I had a really good talk - a visit really. And it all came about because of a creative punishment. You see, Franklin was supposed to ride the bus to my school so that we could go, as a family, to buy Jose's birthday present. A mini version of the FFO if you will. And Franklin, in the wisdom of all of his 17 years, decided that he really didn't want to do that. Rather than calling to say that he didn't want to do that, or calling to make up some excuse, Franklin merely boarded the bus home. When I called him at 3:30 to inquire as to the reason for his absence, Franklin said that he didn't feel good. Now, I admit that in the major scheme of things, this is a small thing. But there is a larger underlying principle involved - and an act of open defiance (which although common in teens, is not necessarily something that I wanted to encourage). A precendent had been set, and had to be met with some consequence.

Now, because I do possess a modicum (minute though they may be) of skills dealing with teenagers -- I did not storm into his room in anger. I merely popped my head in his door and said, "you couldn't call?" And when that received no response, I used a little paraphrasing and turned it into "Why didn't you call." And I received THE (capital letters, the one and only, every parent will hear this answer at least once if not a thousand times beginning at age 2) ANSWER.... "i don't know." And my parenting moment comes from acknowledging that those 3 words are perhaps the most annoying in the entire English language. When I taught high school students and recieved this answer, I would always say that I don't know is a lazy answer that means you don't want to think. The parental version of this statement elicited the response, "I didn't think you'd let me come home." Which, in all honesty, was a pretty fair respone. As it turns out, today, I would have let him come home because Elijah had, unbeknownst to me, invited and arranged (including note from the other parent) for his friend Riley to come over and play after school - so the family shopping event had to be post poned anyway.

Anyway, being a fair minded individual, I asked Franklin what he thought would be a fair punishment. Acknowleding that it wasn't a big deal - but did have some serious implications - and there needed to be a fair consequence. Again, "I don't know." So I offered some encouragement, with the parental come back - either you offer a suggestion, or I'll have to come up with something that really sucks. I was thinking of taking the phone and the zune. Franklin's response was . . . the fatal "that's o.k." Instantly, being the guru of discipline that I am, I was more than aware that the loss of those items was not and adequate punishment. He didn't care!!! And then, inspiration struck. His bedroom door. Franklin is a strict guardian of privacy and his space. He doesn't want the dogs in his room, or toys, or too many people. He keeps his door shut all the time. And so, his punishment is that his door must remain open for 3 days. And instantly, Franklin was agitated -- and I had succeeded. It's no different than when you're child is being so very annoying and is about to get in trouble - but you don't want him to be in trouble MAD - you want him in trouble CRYING! why? so that we feel better. Ha! Ha! I made you as grumpy as you made me! And with Franklin's door - well, there was something that made him as annoyed as I had been for a few brief moments that afternoon. It was something that mattered. Sounds mean and petty I know - but well - some parent moments are both - and they aren't all bad parent moments either.

And then, when it was all said and done, we sat and chatted - just about stuff: about how parents don't want their children to make the same mistakes they made - but how kids need to make mistakes so that they can learn to be adults -- a little bit about girls (and how they are essentially evil especially with other girls) - And tonight, as I was putting the dogs out - and picking up a few things - if only to keep Jose from being so terribly grumpy in the morning - I went to check on Franklin's door - and there it was open (even though he said it would make him feel like he was sleeping outside - and that he didn't think he could sleep with it open) - and I didn't have to remind him, or ask him, it just was. And so, being my mother's child - I turned on the light and told him that he was not a bad kid at all -- even though he was sleeping and won't remember. And as I finish this entry - I am fighting the tempation to put food in his room so the dogs will hang out there for the entire 3 days. (I have decided that some part of parenting is also tied very closely to sibling relationships - or maybe that's just for me -- and definitely for another entry.)