Brain-Sucker

"Guess what this is?" My uncle would ask this question while his hand was on top of my head doing a weird pulsing motion. Then he'd say, "A brain-sucker starving to death!" *Insert knee slap here.* That annoying brain-sucker was actually harmless. I have, however, encountered more detrimental brain-suckers in my adult life. The most difficult, of late, has been my television.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love TV. I always have, and now it's my livelihood. Not only do I love television, but I want everyone else to love it, too. This affection for that warm, flickering glow is the reason I have difficulty admitting that too much of this good thing is not good for me.

Maybe I'm being too hard on television. "Brain-sucker" is a bit of an exaggeration. A more accurate description of TV's effect on me is "brain-clogger." The television doesn't actually remove material from my brain. It just causes cessation of creativity, productivity and inspiration. I find that a lack of stimulation around me prods my brain to fill the gap. If I am not occupying my mind with Homer Simpson's hi jinks, then my mind will occupy itself with dark forms of little birds sitting in swirls of a thick, blue-green atmosphere, paint and canvass, brushes. If Stewie's attempts at matricide aren't commanding my attention, then my attention drifts toward a more keen awareness of my real emotional state; why I feel that way; what words express it best.

Please understand, this musing isn't a damnation of television. I certainly don't have a melodramatic view of TV as some sort of destructor of society, family, or whatever. I actually believe TV is a glorious portal to a small world. A portal with tremendous power, and those of us who wield that power have a tremendous responsibility (yes, that's from Spiderman, but it happens to be true.) I must sometimes remind myself that this medium for which I have so much respect has a tremendous power over me, just like so many others. Ben & Jerry's ice cream has a similar power over me.

Everyone has brain-suckers. Mine is television. Someone else's may be video games, internet surfing, gossip. As is the case with many of the yummiest things in life, moderation is a necessary virtue. Less television means more art, writing and introspection. Less Ben & Jerry's means wearing the little red bikini without a t-shirt.

I think Homer will have to entertain someone else tonight. I'll catch up with him on Sunday.