The View From Here

The View From Here
By Ken DeLaat

It’s been a rather topsy-turvy time.

I mean, we're in a year when anything can happen right?
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After all in one of the biggest surprises ever we saw a victory that few ever thought could ever occur. There are many, including myself that would have never given a prayer for this phenomenon to take the country by storm like it did and have an unlikely candidate emerge with a surprising win. A triumph that...

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...would cause an outpouring of media coverage and send millions into the streets as a result.

I’m talking about the Cubs, of course.

Who did you think I was referring to?

When the beloved Cubbies won the World Series it ended more than a century of utter frustration, disappointment and near misses. Long suffering fans finally received redemption and reward for their undying loyalty.

It was a beautiful thing to see (unless like Freedom Chevrolet’s Chuck Clark you were rooting for the Indians) and the experience gave hope that amidst the feelings of futility and angst-driven aggravation one can endure when pinning their hopes to the jerseys of perennial also-rans there occurs on occasion the ever-so-sweet triumph when the stars and planets align and your team comes away having won it all.

So take hope Lion fans everywhere. I know there’s another 40 years before the championship drought experienced by the Honolulu Blue and Silver reaches Cub proportions but if this year has taught us anything it’s that anything can, and usually does, happen.

And you know, maybe it’s just a coincidence and all but some of my dearest relatives live near Houston where Super Bowl LI is being played.

Just saying……

And:

I’m a self-admitted chronic TV watcher. I know it’s chic and cool and all to say you don’t hardly watch it at all but I unabashedly watch a lot.

Trouble is, not having yet embraced the wave of new programming available via Netflix et. al. my viewing is confined to what is known as ‘regular TV’ and there’s a dearth of good shows to be found unless you’re a fan of inane ‘reality’-type shows which, obviously, I am not.

However now and then a gem appears on the small screen and this fall there was one such occurrence.

If you have yet to watch This Is Us, a rare capture of near-perfect poignancy, you must give it a try and be sure to go to the beginning by accessing it On Demand so you get the whole story.

It is sublime and though as all shows do it will eventually run its course, right now it simply oozes charm with exquisite writing, better than average acting from top to bottom of the credits and just enough O Henryish irony to make it a fetching watch.

It’s currently on hiatus, a perfect time to catch up with this imaginative piece of work so tune in and prepare to get hooked on what is the absolute jewel of mainstream television.
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You can thank me later.

“Most people gaze neither into the past nor the future; they explore neither truth nor lies. They gaze at the television.”-Radiohead