Monday, 9:24 pm. One daughter in bed watching a show on an iPad as a way to wind down after an art lesson and an hour of math with me. One daughter, freshly showered from soccer practice (which just ended), eating edamame and watching All in the Family in the living room. We don’t have cable so we’re limited to the old shows on obscure channels. Shows that used to be based on stories, not the sensationalism that passes for television today. Anyway, she likes All in the Family. Some shows have sticking power, I guess. I don’t get it, though. The show’s culture is foreign (she’s got no reference point to the 70s) and the themes are adult. There’s no reason she should be drawn to it. Is the writing that good? That universal?
What a different world it was back then. I remember this show being on in our house when I was a kid. It came on right after the Vietnam war news. I remember Archie Bunker bickering with his son in-law – Meathead. An nickname that made its way to me by my step father. A term of endearment, as it were.
“Do you really like this show?” I just asked.
“Yeah. And he reminds me of you.” she replied.
Nice.
(also – the commercials on this station are basically one big infomercial for The Scooter Store. Nice.)
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Jim Mitchem – aka meathead
