NOT THIS TIME

Usually when someone goes on strike it costs me money. Either directly or indirectly. Don't get me wrong: there are lots of worthy strikes for better conditions/better pay. But the strike called for the Hollywood writers will not affect me at all. Well, maybe. I'll explain.

I love movies. I spent more than my fair share of Saturdays when I was young sitting inside a dark movie theatre. I should have been doing something a whole lot more worthwhile, but I liked the movies.

After we were first married, we would stay up late to watch the Oscars. If I recall, they were televised just after the NCAA basketball tournament championship game. Maybe, it was the next day. But it always meant a late night of tv viewing. But that was years ago. A neighbor of ours last year had an Oscar Night party, but fortunately we were out of town and couldn't attend. Fortunately because I had no idea who were nominated and for what film. (They played some kind of pick the winner game, and I'm sure I would have come in dead last.)

Aside from taking the grandkids to see G-rateds, the last movie I saw was Breach. I take that back--the last movie we went to was Breach starring someone named Ryan Phillipe. You see Breach put me to sleep. Don't let me get warm, quiet, full of popcorn, in a darkened room, and then put on some psychological movie sans action and expect me to stay awake. It's not going to happen.

But my point is, I don't like the movies anymore. We never go. I don't belong to Netflix. I get premium movie channels (misnomer) only because, and I repeat only because of my sports package that goes along with them. If I can't get sports scores and I mean right now, well, I'm hard to live with. And they should never allow those shows a commercial break without running the scores at the bottom, preferably the top of the screen. But I don't watch any of the movies. Why? They're so negative, so depressing, so full of unnecessary language. They're like the AARP Magazine only with different words and women.

So if I don't watch movies, how's the strike going to affect me? Well, positively, I hope. I hope those on strike-- all, yes, all find some other vocation. I hope the new Hollywood reverts to the old Hollywood where movies were places you could take the whole family. Well, maybe it'll never be Dollar Night at the Drive-In Theatres where the whole car got in for a buck. But you ought to be able to take your wife or date or friend without being embarrassed by what is shown on the silver screen.

Clean it up and I'll return. I'll even walk a picket line with you. But until you do, well, you're on your own. But then again, you don't need me now; you probably won't need me then.

(Note: it appears that it is the NY tv writers who are striking and late night tv is affected. Again, it won't affect me. I can't stay up for the 10 o'clock news. But if the strike ever is called for the movie people, ths blog entry has already been written for it.)