Nightmare

The other night I had a terrible dream. I dreamt I became a popular novel junkie.

Commercial Break

Watching summer olympics clips these last few evenings has reminded me of something I had almost forgotten: Watching commercial television involves watching television commercials.

I realized that it has literally been years since I've watched television commercials. My husband and I are almost always too busy to watch television in the evenings. When we do have time and the desire to sit in front of the TV, we usually watch a movie or an episode from a classic show like "Jeeves & Wooster" or "Barchester Chronicles."

It reminds me a bit of holding babies. No doubt you are asking yourself how watching TV commercials can possibly have any similarity to holding babies, but work with me here.

After four babies and ten years of changing diapers and wiping spit up, I wasn't all that eager to hold any baby. I wasn't one of those matronly women constantly carrying around other people's babies. But since our baby is almost 23 years old, I've had a significant break from babies and I'm more inclined to hold them these days. Especially if the baby is one of my own grandchildren!

In a similar way, my long hiatus from television commercials has made me more receptive to the formerly repulsive concept of commercials. I am still annoyed that commercial breaks make me miss some live action I would like to see, like scoring during beach volleyball games. And I am still convinced most commercials are worthless, like the fall line-up ads, which have reinforced my belief that prime time TV is primarily trash. But I have been surprised to actually enjoy some commercial moments.

For one thing, I am absolutely thrilled to discover that some folks are driving Chevy trucks with more miles on them than any of our vehicles. I didn't know such vehicles existed.

The new car promotion that will end "Soon...real soon" and the things people miss because they miss cell phone calls are funny, but not funny enough that I remember the brand names.

I enjoy seeing that guy start smiling when he's talking on his cell phone and making the whole crowd around him smile. I will try to recapture some of that warm feeling the next time I pay our painful cell phone bill.

The Visa ad honoring Michael Phelps is classy and emotional. It almost makes me not totally abhor credit card companies, but not quite.

And I love seeing that cute little American girl and that cute little Chinese girl eating Oreos and interacting through the windows of separate trains. It reminds me of eating Oreos and drinking Hi-C out of a brightly colored aluminum tumbler when I was a little girl visiting my grandma on Sunday afternoons. That's a pleasant memory, but neither it nor the cute little girl ad makes me go out and purchase sugar-laden, highly-processed chocolate wafers stuck together with sweetened paste.

My favorite commercial moment was watching a chorus sing, "This little light of mine," while AIG told viewers that people with faith live three years longer. If I had money to invest, I might consider AIG.

Golden Apples

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver."

Proverbs 25:11

Proverbs 25:11 is a profound proverb. It is one I often think about and one that is particularly appropriate for blogs. A word can be "fitly spoken" by being the right word said at the right time or by being appropriate and edifying.

The reason I often think about this proverb is that I so frequently fail in fulfilling it. I can't tell you how many times I've hung up the phone or walked away from a conversation and thought of the perfect thing I should have said. The path of my life is littered with missed opportunities to speak a fit word.

One of the reasons I post infrequently to this blog is that I feel a weight of responsbility for its content. It's far too easy to post worthless or negative garbage on a blog. But once it's posted, it can't be taken back; it flies around the globe on the wings of the world wide web.

The imagery of the web, of course, represents the interconnected network of information available on the Internet. But it is also an apt entrapment image. Just as a sticky spider web traps unwary insects, the profusion of harmful information available—literally at one’s keyboard-poised fingertips—on the world wide web can easily trap the undiscerning user.

Aside from the inexhaustible dangerous and harmful information, the web teems with worthless dross. Many blog authors share insights that are not as valuable as they believe. Some use appalling grammar. Some post negatively about other people. May God preserve me from all of the above!

What I think is so brilliant in my early morning hours may not stand up to the harsh light of day.

It reminds of a poem I wrote many years ago:

Nighttime Poetry

that sings
in the brain
looks so banal
on day lit paper.

© Glenda Mathes

I believe that writing on a blog carries with it an inherent responsibility. Sometimes it causes me to tremble.