Where thanks are due

I have to thank my sister, Jennifer, for a couple things. First of all, she, her husband and their daughter (who is a member of Team Awesome, yours truly being the other member) brought me an early birthday present today...their old TV. No, this is cool. It is definitely an upgrade from my TV that was from the 80's I think. Anyway, now I can sit in any chair in my living room, not just the closest one and see the TV. And as nice as that gift is, that is not the main thing I want to thank her for. I mostly want to thank her for turning me onto the best show on TV: An Idiot Abroad.

Now let me digress for a moment. I know that the last blog was about TV and this blog is again about TV and some may think that I am wasting my life in front of the idiot box. Let me remind you that it is February/March this is the time of the year that you just hang on and do whatever you have to to make it through till spring makes an honest appearance. It's close, this spring.....but not quite here. When it happens I will be out there making better use of my time (whatever that is...)

Okay, back to An Idiot Abroad. Seriously the best travel show, ever...and there have been some good ones. The thing that sets it apart is that the "host," Karl, is like so many people out there that you encounter when you travel...he is an idiot. But he, unlike most idiots, seems to understand this and embrace it. He makes no apologies for the way he is. He doesn't care..he just wants to go home. Karl is what his friends refer to as "a typical Englander,"...he doesn't like being out of his comfort zone. So, what do they do? They send him waaaay out of his comfort zone. Karl sort of tries to be a good sport about it..grudgingly, and will vocalize how stupid and meaningless it all is. But he does what they tell him to and hopes it will be over soon. One reason that it's such a good travel show is because the places they put him up are more like where you and I would end up...some not so great..some downright scary. It's a travel show for real people....people who have no idea what they are doing.

The creators of the show (his mates) say they are trying to expand Karl's mind through travel. Nah, they just want to watch Karl stumble around the world so they can A)create good television and B) laugh at him. It's brilliant. But, Karl's mind will probably get expanded anyway..it has to. For instance..he learned that in third world countries, people are usually born into their jobs. It's not like they applied to be a goat milker...their father and grandfather before him were goat milkers and so he is a goat milker. That's just the way it is. Karl encountered a guy in Mexico who lost an eye from making fireworks. Fireworks builder is this guys profession. Karl exclaimed that "maybe this chap isn't the best man for the job." He seemed not to understand that a fireworks maker is what this guy is. And of course the man was proud of his profession...as he should be. Just because he had a few bumps in the road (i.e. being blinded by a firework accident) doesn't mean he should abandon who he is. It's dedication like we maybe cannot understand.

Karl has had to do a few reckless things with folks from around the world. He doesn't understand why. Another thing that Karl might learn from these activities, that he will possibly not learn in England, is that life is to be lived....it is not to be conserved, saved for later or really protected very much at all. What's the point of saving up all your living for later?? That has to be a good lesson for all of us.

As you can see, An Idiot Abroad is a win win situation. Karl's mates get to laugh at him and put some money in their pockets. The viewer gets to see some beautiful places and maybe learn something. And Karl...Karl gets to see the Seven Wonders of the world (most of which he never even heard of) and he acquires a vast amount of things to complain about. Everybody wins!!