Venomous Kate wonders:

Isn’t there enough of this “reality” programming yet? Do you realize we’re at the point where a couple could feasibly live their entire lives through reality TV?

Yes, I watched the first season of Survivor. But most of the "reality TV" I've seen just leaves me cold. It all seems like hyped up situations and manipulated drama.

When I want reality I look around me. I go to work, to the park, to the store. People watching is one of my favorite activities. Pick someone out, observe them covertly, and wonder what their life is like. Is that the wife or the girlfriend they're with? A lawyer, an accountant, or a postal worker? Does she dye her hair? I wonder if they vote Democratic or Republican.

Reality slaps me in the face everywhere I turn. I teach kids who live in very difficult family situations. They tell me about it all the time. It hits me when I pay the bills or go to a conference at my son's school. It knocks me around when I have leaky pipes and pumps that don't pump.

I'm a newsaholic, so I get plenty of reality there too. Nicholas Berg, Iraqi prisoners, terrorist attacks, famine, poverty, election-year politics...its all right there to see and soak in. I watch the TV news and hear stories about car crashes, murders, and rape. I also hear about heroic rescues, charity drives, soldiers doing good deeds, and people helping out a neighbor in need.

But when I sit down in front of the TV I don't want reality. Give me some old fashioned fantasy. Make me laugh, make me cry, or make me think about something I haven't considered. Just don't give me any more reality.
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