I have a seriously overactive imagination, and because of this I limit myself to the kind of television I watch. Several years ago when I accidentally got hooked on the show 24, I went around for months looking over my shoulder convinced someone was following me, everyone I saw on the street was quite obviously a terrorist with an overly complicated plan to take over Philadelphia all of which hinged on taking me out. I began taking long winding detours to get home so that it was harder to trail me.  This was back when I lived in the city and it got a little bit out of control – a 15 minute walk home from work would turn into 40 minutes or even an hour…

This self editing also applies to books – I like to read science fiction and fantasy novels because if I am unable to relate the story to reality than I worry less that the particular situation will somehow crop up in my life. It is a rare day I encounter dragons or get involved in intergalactic ‘situations’.

Some people might consider this avoidance cowardly but I am okay with that, I really prefer to live in my own bubble where it is inconceivable that people can kill other people, or violent crimes against humanity have the potential to happen.  I like to watch CNN headline news in the morning, because ever since CBS and Time Warner bought them out their focus is less on real world issues and more on the outcome of dancing with the stars… thanks CNN.

I was pretty sure that my husband understood my need for a rose-colored outlook (every time he turns on law and order I leave the room) so imagine my surprise when I realized just a few days ago that the next item in our netflix queue is the first season of the Wire. I don’t know much about the Wire but I know that there probably aren’t any hobbits in it and probably deals with real life gritty situations that are going to make the voices in my head sing real loud and distract me from whats going happening on the screen… I have to say I’m a little disappointed in my husband right now – and I should probably go apologize to all of my neighbors because in a few weeks when we are knee-deep in season one I am going to start assuming they are all rampant drug addicts.