I'm A Patsy - Gotta Problem With That?

Tuesday, July 31, 2007


When my grandson, Harry, was about 7 years old, he came with his parents from Los Angeles for a visit. He had told me he wanted a big box to sleep in, and it would be called “Big Bob’s Video” which was a game we played about a video store. So I called my friend, Pat, who owns Division Maytag here in town, and he was kind enough to deliver an empty refrigerator box, at no charge, to my condo. That’s what I call a good friend. I put yellow paper around as much as I could of the box and wrote “Big Bob’s Video” on the front. The above picture shows Harry in the box and also Harry standing on my sidewalk the next morning, wrapped in the quilt I had made for him. He’s looking rather puzzled, either because it’s so early or maybe it’s because he didn’t have a good night. Or maybe it’s starting out as a really bad hair day!

Here’s what had happened that night: Harry and I watched TV – probably L&O: SVU because we both like that – and then it was time for us both to go to sleep. I was on the couch where I always sleep, and Harry was in his box on a big, brown bean bag pillow I had made. His folks were gone for the night, so we were alone. He put up a fuss, but I was very sleepy, and I told him he was very sleepy. So I turned off the lights and the TV and put the remote on my chest to keep it close to me. I hate to be too disconnected from my TV – I suppose there are other people who feel that way – at least I hope there are. So I fell asleep and awoke when I saw Harry creeping around me and trying to get the remote! I was not very happy about that at all, and I yelled, “Get back in your damn box and go to sleep!” He did just that, and we both went to sleep. I haven’t won any awards for grandmother of the year, and I don’t remember even being nominated. Now why do you suppose that is?

Sunday, July 29, 2007

“Burn Notice”

I’ve watched two episodes of “Burn Notice” on USA and really like it. It’s something I think you can watch and be amused and entertained by and not have to be on the edge of your chair trying to figure out what’s happening or what might happen next. It’s a very fun show with characters I like and doesn’t require some heavy thought process to get through it.

Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) was an international spy, based mostly in the Middle East. He does a voice-over in the beginning, “My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy until” . . . Then he gets a phone call telling him he’s been burned, and he continues, “When you’re burned, you’ve got nothing – no cash, no credit, no job history. You’re stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in.” In his case, he was fired and dumped in Miami, his home town – a place where he definitely didn’t want to be. So now he has to try and figure out why he was burned and who was responsible. An old acquaintance, Sam (Bruce Campbell) tries to help him but also is supposed to feed information back to the FBI who is tracking Michael.

Sharon Gless plays his mother. I have always liked her and was a big fan of “Cagney and Lacey.” Why did they ever stop producing that show? I wish she had more scenes. She is funny and is always smoking . . . always. I get a big kick out of her and hope she shows up more.

Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) is an ex-IRA operative and also an ex-girlfriend, but she is definitely in the picture in Miami. She is even more devious than Michael.

Michael has a brother who is a sort of loser. Michael has to put up with that as he’s always bailing him out of some bad situation.

I like this show and consider it to be “easy watching” as they say about some types of music called “easy listening.” And Jeffrey Donovan is very cute.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

I watched the second episode of Lifetime’s “State of Mind” Sunday night and was hoping I liked it better than the first one, but I didn’t. In the first episode, Ann Bellowes, played by Lili Taylor, is a therapist who has recently separated from her husband, but she keeps having hallucinations where he appears at her counseling sessions, at home and every place imaginable. I was hoping that wouldn’t be happening in the second episode, but it’s worse. Now Ann is having more hallucinations, but they are of her. So much time is wasted while she talks to herself and her husband even though they aren’t actually there and no one else can hear the conversations.This seems like a total waste of time to me and very distracting. It certainly doesn’t improve the flow of the show.

Monday night I watched the first episode of “Saving Grace” on TNT and wasn’t too impressed. In all the ads, Grace (Holly Hunter) is portrayed as a hard drinking, smoking, sleeping around type of girl . . . not that there’s anything wrong with that. But in the first couple of minutes, she’s shown having wild sex with her cop partner who’s married, then grabbing a cigarette, taking some kind of pill and pouring booze in her soda can. All this before she heads off to work early that morning. None of this sort of thing bothers me, but the show is all caught up in God, faith and religion. That is not entertaining to me. They are trying to show how far Grace has sunk, and how she will find redemption some way and maybe start believing in God.

Early on an angel appears in the form of a guy who chews tobacco and spits into on old, dirty-looking green jar. That’s a real turn-off! He also sprouts wings and transports Grace to other places where they talk about God and faith. He is her “Last Chance Angel” and is going to save her. This is totally unbelievable to me. I can’t imagine why someone came up with an idea like that and is trying to make something out of it. Religion has its place, but certainly not being crammed down your throat on some gritty TV show. “Saving Grace” premiered following “The Closer” which is a big hit. That show is so well written and entertaining – I love it. That must be the reason for the decision on the placement of “Saving Grace.” I was turned off by the ads and I can now see why.

Tuesday night I watched the premiere episode of “Damages” on FX again. I wrote about it in an earlier posting, but now I’ll mention one verbal exchange Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) has with an opposing attorney concerning a case very early in the show. I think this exemplifies Patty’s character and what we can expect from her in the coming episodes. Patty has just pulled off an extremely dirty trick on the attorney, and he realizes it and says, “If you were a man, I’d kick the livin’ dog shit out of you!” Patty smiles and replies, “If you were a man, I’d be worried.” This show should have an interesting run, and I’ll be watching.

Last night I watched FX and my favorite – “Rescue Me.” I was not disappointed as the show just tickles me! It can get grim, but it’s also very funny. It ended very ominously, and I’m wondering what’s going to happen next week. I’ll just have to wait and see.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007


July is the month of my wedding anniversary . . . in fact, today is the day. However, I’m not married now, but it still brings back memories of when I was. One of the wonderful memories was when our daughters prepared a dinner for Darrell and me to be eaten in their playhouse. The playhouse is in the above picture with Cindy in the foreground and the famous rocking horse that Teri loved so much sitting right in front of the playhouse. I think she probably rode it a few times while she was preparing dinner. My dad had asked a friend, Oscar Alajoki, who lived in Hood River where my folks lived, if he’d build the playhouse which he did. They then brought it down to Portland on a truck. The girls were thrilled!

So they decided to surprise us with a dinner in the playhouse for our 15th wedding anniversary. They made a beautiful heart-shaped cake, and Teri explained how she did it when she was up here the last time. She had to draw me a picture before I could grasp the concept. She apparently had no trouble grasping the concept when she made it! Young people are so quick and smart . . . or maybe it’s that we get dumb and stupid as we get older. She made one square cake and one round cake. She cut the round one in half and placed the half pieces on the square cake which made the heart. I have no idea how that was accomplished without my knowing unless she cooked it at Ruth’s house down the street. Ruth was and is a good friend and Randy’s mother. Randy was Cindy’s buddy. Teri and Cindy frosted the cake and made a No. 15 out of red hots in the center. In the above picture, part of the cake is missing. I guess we ate it. They used the “Cook Book for Kids” and made garlic bread sticks out of poppin’ fresh rolls. I wish I knew how to do that.

They had to clean out all the spiders in the playhouse as they knew how scared I was of spiders. As they were getting ready, Darrell and I went down to Ruth and Bob’s house for a drink. I don’t know how many we had – just long enough for the girls to get ready. When we came home, we were very surprised at the effort they put into it without our even knowing. They were so sweet to do something like that and we loved it. I think they served us through the playhouse window like they do at drive-thru places. I don’t think there was an entrée as none of us can remember one. The whole day was a good day thanks to our daughters.

It’s funny, but I don’t remember any of our other anniversaries – I think this one was the best even without an entrée. Now if I can only get my hands on that “Cook Book for Kids,” I might be able to make some poppin’ fresh garlic sticks and possibly even an entrée. But I won’t be eating it in the playhouse. As I’ve found out during my life, nothing ever stays the same which can be good and sometimes really sad. But I try to remember the good times and not dwell on the “not so good” times. Thanks to our daughters, this was a very good time.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

I’ve been keeping busy so far this summer with the new television shows, and I’m loving it! “Rescue Me” on FX is my favorite. I know it’s not a new summer show, but I had to mention it. I’ve been watching “The Closer” on TNT since it began a few years ago. I think it’s an excellent show and extremely entertaining. Kyra Sedgwick is great in it playing deputy police Chief Brenda Johnson. All of her officers are very good in their roles – they’re sort of like the squad room guys in “Rescue Me” only not nearly as crude.

I watched the first episode of “State of Mind” on Lifetime and think it might be ok if they fix a few things. Lili Taylor plays a therapist whose marriage just fell apart. When she counsels couples, her husband appears in the scene – sort of an hallucination - and babbles the entire session. I find this very annoying as does Lily, so I’m hoping someone takes care of that before I watch it again. But that’s probably not going to happen.

I saw the first episode of “Damages” on FX and wrote on my blog about it. That’s going to be a very exciting and entertaining show. Glenn Close is so bad, but she’s so good at it that she makes it ok. You know she’s thinking of doing something rotten even when she’s smiling and sucking you in. And Ted Danson, as her opponent in a class action case, is evil.

I have always watched “Monk” on USA and think he is very funny. I love his OCD problem even though he goes to great extremes with it. I think all of us have a little OCD somewhere in us . . . I know I do.

I watched the first episode of “Mad Men” on AMC and found it fascinating! It takes you back to the “old days” where men were jerks and women were thought of only as secretaries or possible bed partners. Actually, things may have not have changed that much since then. This happens at the Sterling Cooper advertising agency whose client is Lucky Strike cigarettes. This all starts on March 1960. I noticed the date on the wall calendar as the “new girl” at the office was getting a pelvic exam from a physician so that she could obtain contraceptive pills. It was her first day at work, and in that amount of time, she realized the only way she might rise to the top was by sleeping her way up. What got me about this scene was that the physician was smoking while he conducted the examination! When she was being filled in by another secretary, she was told that “men are looking for something between a mother and a waitress, and the rest of the time . . . well . . .” She also shows her an electric typewriter and says “It looks complicated, but the men who designed it made it simple enough so a woman could use it.” That sounds a little bit like a Geico commercial.

Don Draper is Creative Director of Sterling Cooper and I got the idea he was a pretty good guy – not as crass or crude as the other men there. In nearly every scene, there would be a good case for sexual harassment these days, but back then it was standard operating procedure and the women went along with it. They actually played right into it, knowing their compliance might help their careers. And everyone smoked constantly! No matter what they were doing, they were smoking. At one meeting they were all smoking and coughing and thinking of ways to get around the Reader’s Digest and FTC reports on the hazards of smoking. It was actually quite funny!

Draper has a scene with his girlfriend who apparently has her own business, and they seem to get along like ordinary people. He asks why she has never married and she says because has never been in love. He tells her, “What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons.”

By the last scene I am still thinking of Draper as a pretty good guy until you see him driving up to his big house and going upstairs to where his beautiful wife is waiting for him! It was then I realized he is just an ordinary man like all the rest. And the new girl has a late knock on her door from a drunken ad man from the office who’s getting married in a few days. He says he just has to see her, so she lets him in. She just met him that day for God’s sake! A good thing she had seen the doctor that day – I hope she got the prescription filled – looks like she’ll need it.

I think when you watch this show you’re either going to be really turned off by the constant smoking . . . or you rush out as fast as you can to the nearest 7-ll and buy a pack. It should be a fun show to watch this summer.

I have seen many ads for “Saving Grace,” debuting on TNT, and have been completely turned off by the music played during the promo – the entire Amazing Grace song. That has never been one of my favorites, and I’m finding it very annoying. Grace (Holly Hunter) has apparently messed up her cop job in Oklahoma and finds herself in a terrible mess and asks for help. An angel named Earl comes to her rescue! Now come on . . . is this a fairy tale or what? I don’t think I can go along with that aspect of the show and may not like it at all. But I’ll give it a shot this week.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Michael Vick article, “The Oregonian,” 7/19/07, by Brent Hunsberger

I just read the article about Michael Vick, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, and whether or not he’ll be able to hang onto his Nike endorsement. Who cares? I certainly don’t. He was accused by Federal officials Monday of running an operation called Bad Newz Kennels on his property in Virginia. The indictment said Vick and his associates had an animal-fighting venture where gambling took place. They also bought pit bulls to participate in the games. After games, the dogs that hadn’t died but were injured were sometimes electrocuted, drowned, hanged or shot. Vick is being arraigned July 26, the same day the Falcons training camp begins.

We have all become very used to hearing of steroid use, drug use, DUIs, getting into fights after stumbling out of late-night clubs and sexual assaults involving professional athletes. But we’ve never heard of something involving brutality toward animals to this extent. There have been allegations of dog fighting, but nothing quite this horrific. This article quotes Lynn Kahle, a professor who teaches sports marketing at University of Oregon, who says, “A lot of people have a pet dog they really love, and the idea of mistreating a pet dog is bothersome.” Bothersome?? What is that? I call it vile and disgusting what he and his buddies did on his property. I can’t think of anything harsh enough a judge or jury could lay on him. As far as his endorsement with Nike, I think Nike should drop him like a hot potato . . . but they probably won’t.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

“Damages”

After viewing a preview of the first episode of “Damages,” the new FX show, which premieres on July 24 at 10pm, I was extremely impressed and excited. This show is very sophisticated and well written. The opening scene is quite startling, and from that moment on, you know you’re in for something that will hold your attention for as long as it lasts.

Patty Hewes of the powerful “Hewes & Associates” in New York City is played by Glenn Close. She is one of the country’s most hated litigators because she goes after what she wants and usually gets it by whatever means necessary – good or bad. Glenn is a fine actress and she does this part so well. She can be cutthroat and also seemingly sincere and actually sweet at times, but those times she always has a reason behind her actions. She will do absolutely anything it takes to get what she wants and screw the consequences. I loved seeing her smiling at someone and looking so beautiful and serene and yet knowing that something terrible might happen as a result of that one scene.

Patty is working a class action lawsuit against Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) who is an extremely wealthy CEO. Patty would like to personally destroy him and also bankrupt him. Frobisher is a cruel man and will do just about anything to win his case. He’s just as ruthless as Patty and even more frightening in a way . . . and yet Patty is pretty frightening.

Young attorney Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) is picked by Patty to be a first-year Associate at the firm which will drastically change both their lives. She goes in wide-eyed and eager, gradually becoming aware of what is actually doing down. Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan) is Patty’s Senior Associate and shows Ellen the ropes and how things are done. Frobisher’s attorney, Ray Fiske, is played by Zeljko Ivanek whom I have seen many times playing an attorney, district attorney and even a judge. He does his part very well. There are many other characters that will be showing up more as time goes on.

I have been looking forward to this show for quite a while and was not disappointed by what I saw. I see no reason why it won’t be a big hit and very successful. Things are happening all the time, and some are completely unexpected and come with a jolt. This will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I can’t say enough good things about Glenn Close. She is so beautiful and seems to act so effortlessly, it’s a joy to watch her even though you know she’s up to no good. I loved her in “Fatal Attraction” and even wanted her frizzy hair. It is sheer joy watching her act. This show should be a winner!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Rescue Me – fourth episode

At the end of the third episode, Chief Jerry shot himself as he couldn’t stand the thought of going on forced retirement. This affects the crew in different ways. Sean asks if that means he should shoot himself when he gets older. That sets Tommy off on one of his rants.

Sean finds vodka bottle behind the toilet and gets mad at Maggie who’s on the couch, just waking up from a hangover. He tells her he doesn’t like her drinking all the time and asks if she has more bottles. She says she wants him to put that back behind the toilet because, “Next time I’m on the can, I won’t have to reach back and come up empty.” She also has one on her side of the bed for after sex, one in computer drawer and one in the couch. Sean calls her a drunk and she calls him an idiot. Pretty good assessments! They decide on a divorce and Maggie goes off to vomit.

The crew goes to a fire and discusses where to put Chief Jerry’s ashes. Lou says in the can, but Sean says that’s where the gambling money is. So Lou says, “No, the shitter, you asshole.” Lou says it should be stall No. 1 as that was Chief Jerry’s favorite. Sean says that’s his favorite, and the thought of Jerry’s face looking up at him when he’s on the can would make him tighten up. Lou tells him to drink prune juice as that makes you shit.

Next is the scene with Tommy and Janet visiting a therapist, trying to get help for their troubled relationship. It’s not verbatim, but close to it.

Janet: We were high school sweethearts – dated, had sex, got pregnant, got married.
Tommy: Early years were good.
Janet: Pretty good.
Tommy: I thought they were great – we drifted apart . . .
Janet: He was always emotionally distant because of the job.
Tommy: Firefighters had to keep emotions and all that crap at bay.
Janet: He’d work all day, come home and wouldn’t talk about it. I felt closed off and didn’t feel like having sex. .
Tommy: Yeah - 7 ½ years
Janet: We split up and he moved across the street so he could see the kids and keep an eye on me to see who I was dating.
Tommy: Yeah, you should have seen that group of guys . . . like Roger.
Janet: Roger said you tried to burn his face off on the stove.
Tommy: I don’t even cook. Then she moved to Ohio.
Janet: But I came back, and he decided to start dating Sheila, the widow of his cousin, who died on 9/11. Then Sheila got pregnant.
Tommy: I didn’t decide – it just happened. She had a miscarriage or abortion – I don’t know which. And then Janet got pregnant because she was sleeping with my brother, but I’m pretty sure it’s my baby because we were having an affair while she was having an affair with my now dead brother.
Janet: And then our son was killed by a drunk driver . . .
Tommy: Who my uncle then shot. And then there was the rape . . .

The therapist’s eyes have gotten big and round, and there’s a funny look on his face like he can’t believe what he’s just heard.

Janet: But we don’t have time to go into that right now (meaning the rape). We’ve been through a lot, but there’s still some passion left. What do you think?

The therapist smiles as if he’s just caught on to a giant hoax, excuses himself and leaves the room. He calls a friend and says, “Dick, you got me – almost. I almost fell for it, you rotten bastard!” He soon realizes Dick knows nothing about anything, and he sheepishly walks back into the room and tells them he won’t be having the time they’re going to need.

Tommy gives Franco marriage advice. He says, “Sex is out – tits, ass, and sex – nothing to do with marriage. Key things are listening, long conversations that you remember, hugging, buying furniture and spooning.” Franco says that Tommy was known as the all-time pussy hound of the FDNY, and is that what makes his marriage work? Tommy says, “Yeah, and the fact that my dick apparently doesn’t work with any other women.” Tommy is going though a rough patch with other women and the last scene will show it is now happening with his wife.

I love this show! There are so many incidents in each episode that it’s impossible to write about them all. Every scene is funny no matter what’s happening. And Denis Leary acts like he’s on Ritalin half the time with his fast talking and jumping around. It just keeps getting better and better!

Monday, July 09, 2007


Cindy takes care of the compound in my absence

Cindy and Teri were with me at the compound last Saturday before Teri and I went to Hood River for a few days, and the three of us took a walk around the neighborhood. I had told the girls about the homeless man I occasionally see on my walks and to whom I once brought cookies, so we had to take cookies on our walk. Along the way we did see him and gave him the cookies – the girls thought I should bring him home, but I didn’t think it was a very good idea. We also saw a skittish black and white cat the girls thought I should bring home, but that was a really bad idea – a cat would need a litter box. So we didn’t bring anything home, and Teri and I left in the morning. Cindy stayed at the condo Sunday as she had business in town on Monday. Her main duty here was to take care of my tomato plant growing in my computer room. It’s never going to have any tomatoes as I never got the hang of the artificial insemination process – I tried my best, but to no avail. But it’s turning into the “Little Shop of Horrors” with an actual “Audrey II” plant that will eventually take over the entire room. I don’t feed it human blood as they did in the movie - just plain water. Maybe that’s why the lack of tomatoes? It couldn’t be my inept attempt at AI, could it?

Cindy called us Sunday evening and told us her activities for that day. She brought the homeless man home and let him sit on my white couch without the cover I use for it. He got it dirty as he hadn’t showered for who knows how long. Then she found the feral cat and brought it home. She didn’t get a litter box as she felt it should get used to the place and mark its territory in the nasty way cats do. She wanted a fireplace fire, and decided if one Duraflame log was good, wouldn’t five be better? However, they all rolled out onto the carpet, but she put out the fire with one of my throw rugs – she threw it on the fire. Then the homeless man took a nap on my bed and started a “smoking in bed mattress fire!” I had written about an article in the Parade magazine in an earlier blog posting concerning mattress fires. They managed to put the fire out successfully. I had given her instructions to always jiggle the handle on the toilet after flushing as sometimes it runs. One time she forgot to jiggle, and it ran over. So as the toilet water was cascading all over the floor, she grabbed another throw rug and put it in front of the door. Seems like she threw my throw rugs around quite a bit! Oh, I almost forgot . . . she put the condo up for sale and so far had had two bids. She accomplished all that in one day! After hearing that, Teri and I went down to the hotel bar and shared a bottle of wine, trying to wash away the thought of all that was going on back at the compound!

The picture is of Cindy, standing guard over the barren tomato plant. I don’t know why the Hooters T-shirt – maybe she’s changing jobs. Everything looked fine when I returned, so she either did a fantastic job of cleaning up, or nothing ever happened. I think the latter.

Cindy, you are such a funny girl and can always make me laugh. I love you so much – you make my life brighter. I consider myself very lucky to have two daughters whom I enjoy so much.

Thursday, July 05, 2007


Teri and I go to Hood River

Last Sunday we drove from Portland, up along the Columbia River, to the Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River. The hotel is perched on a cliff above the river with a spectacular view of the river and all the windsurfing and other water activities. From there, we drove out into the country. The scenery in Hood River valley is so beautiful it’s indescribable. We could look in front of us and see Mt. Hood and in back of us was Mt. Adams. I can’t think of anyplace else where you could have such views. We drove to where I once lived and where we used to go and visit my folks with the girls. We drove into the yard of my old home, and it looked so much smaller and not at all like I remembered it. I thought we had a big lawn, but it just wasn't there anymore. It was fun to see my old home, but also sad in a way. I like it better when I dream about it which I do quite often. I dreamt recently about sliding down our stairs that went up to the bedrooms. I was sitting on the stairs and sliding down on my butt, hitting each stair on the way down. We didn’t have television then, so I had to make up fun things to do. Did I think that was fun? We crossed the Hood River and drove around the east side of the valley, stopping at fruit stands along the way. I took the picture of Teri by the side of the road with Mt. Hood in the background. Both Teri and the mountain are beautiful, and the weather was perfect.

The food at the hotel was delicious and plentiful. We had champagne and caviar one afternoon, but I passed on the caviar. Who would eat that strange stuff? Teri ate mine. The farm-style breakfast they have is so good but there’s so much. I wonder if people get fat if they stay there very long. Monday we decided I needed a hair cut, so Teri asked the two young women at the desk if there were any salons in town that might be open. One said that they might not be open on Monday, but there was one up next to the Safeway store in the mall up the road that would be open. So Teri says, “We’re not going to some shitty shop on some strip mall!” Those girls didn’t know with whom they were dealing – TERI’S BACK IN TOWN! So we were off to find a salon downtown, which we did, and I had my hair cut by a distant cousin whom I met for the first time! I’m related to many, many people up there.

At night we timed it so we could watch the “Rescue Me” rerun which I had already seen several times, but once is never enough for me. On Monday we watched “The Closer” which is always good. And other times there were always “L&O” reruns.

Teri was on her Blackberry constantly. I’d see her little thumbs clicking along doing who knows what. I don’t know the Blackberry. In the car, in stores and on the street she’d be answering calls and even having conference calls! She did a conference call while driving! I wanted to make a citizen’s arrest, but there was no way to report it. I do have a cell phone but barely know how to use it. So I did nothing.

On Tuesday we drove around to the south side of Mt. Hood and picked up Harry who had been at a snowboarding camp for the week. I guess he had fun, but I think he liked the skate boarding the best. Teri went in his cabin and told me to wait outside. When she came out she said it stunk! It housed a bunch of pre-teen and teen-age boys who probably never showered after working out all day! It must have been a pit! I asked Harry to stand by me and look like he really loved me so Teri could take our picture which she did.

This was a wonderful several days I spent with Teri, and I loved every minute of it. Thank you, Teri, and I love you a whole lot!

Next I’ll write about Cindy and what she did in our absence while she was babysitting my tomatoes at the compound.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Comfort Food

I consider the entire Law&Order TV series as comfort food. That’s the kind of show you watch when you just feel like lying down and watching something familiar – like when you come home after a trip and you come into your warm, comfortable home. I’ve been a fan of their three series for years. In the afternoons and evenings, you know they’re there and that’s a very comforting thought. NBC shows them first, and then they go to TNT and USA as reruns. I don’t care where they are – I can always find them, and if I can’t, I panic just a little.

I started with just plain L&O when it began. Michael Moriarity was the executive DA and was very good. But he apparently was dismissed, or so he says, because of his threatened lawsuit against Janet Reno who was campaigning against violence in the media. Violence in the media? Where did she get that crazy idea? She said his show was a major offender. Sam Waterston has been the executive DA for years, but is leaving to fill Fred Thomson’s shoes as judge. Fred is going to try and make the country as ultra conservative as he. I don’t wish him any good luck at all, but I did like him in the show.
I hear Sam is the spokesman for “Unity 08” which they hope will be the third political party. What is going on with all these people? Why don’t they just stick to acting? Jerry Orbach was on for years and I loved him. He had been on Broadway and movies, but his best role was that of Lennie Briscoe, a detective on L&O. He died of prostate cancer in 2004.

L&O: Special Victims Unit – SVU is the unit in charge of sex crimes. Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay are two of the detectives. Meloni is very intense and personalizes all the sex crimes as possibly happening to his children. He gets too “over the top” many times. Mariska is always wondering who her father is as she was the child of rape and her mother didn’t like her. I watch the reruns usually and try to keep track of her hair styles. Sometimes it’s really short, and I think, “I want my hair just like hers.” Then the next day it’s really long and I think, “I really want my hair just like hers.” I gave up on that as it changed too much day to day on the reruns. And then she started carrying files around over her stomach all the time, so I knew we wouldn’t be seeing her for a while.

L&O: Criminal Intent is the unit in charge of the worst criminals and is the Major Case Squad. Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe are the two detectives handling the cases. Vincent is a very different kind of detective and his manner of interrogation is wild. He’s quirky and does very peculiar things such as bending way over sideways to look into someone’s face -- he’s all over the place! Kathryn Erbe gets him and just rolls her eyes and occasionally makes little sarcastic remarks. They make a good team. It took a while for me to get used to Vincent, but now I’m with him.

When I turn on an episode of any of the three, I hear Steven Zimkilton giving the narration before the show. His voice is so deep and sounds so ominous that you just know bad things are going to be happening. And when the music goes “Dah Duhm!” - - I’m then into my comfort zone.