Day 2, morning: No TV.
Dry sand swirls through the desecrated living room--once a place of joy and viewing pleasure, it's now a wasteland of cookie crumbs and shattered hopes. Atop the stereo, Netflix DVDs of Buffy, Dr. Who, and (now) Heroes sit, a mirage of entertainment. An abandoned Wii and PS2, sentinels from an earlier, happier era, stand neglected beside the dead remains of a once-great and worshiped deity. The face of the great TV god has forever been wiped clean, scoured by the ravages of time.
Two lone animals prowl the barren temple, settling into forsaken recliners, claiming the lonely landscape and marking it with their shed fur. The humans, once frequent visitors, have migrated to the more fertile entertainment lands--the office.
Day 2, afternoon: A Miracle now commemorated as "Valentine's Day"
The ordinary world of a working TV and easily accessible entertainment was a thing of the past. When repeated attempts to resurrect the old TV god failed, Cody squared his shoulders and faced the adventure life had set before him. Scouring the world of Fry's Electronics, Cody searched for a replacement TV god to adorn our living room temple, but the guardians High Price and Ridiculously High Price fought ferociously against him, and he returned empty-handed but financially whole. Not to be discouraged, Cody quested across Craig's List to the very limits of the search engine, encountering frauds and friends, and finally coming upon an ad worthy of his pursuit. When first his offer was thwarted, Cody turned his efforts to the next challenge, only to have his earlier efforts pay off. A TV was found! However, finding it was half the battle. When his weak-armed woman was unable to help hoist the two-hundred-plus pound TV up the two flights of stairs to their apartment, Cody combined his previous knowledge with what he'd learned on his journey, and he called a friend for help. Together, Cody and his friend staggered up the stairs, carrying the beloved 36" CRT TV into the living room. Victory was ours! The TV god was saved! Entertainment was restored to all! Cody returned a hero.
And that, my friends, is the arc of a hero's journey.
It's also the best Valentine's Day present I've ever received. What did you get for Valentine's Day?
3 comments:
LOL! You must have been so proud of Cody for hunting down your TV. :) Congrats!
The crowds have gathered below a nondescript 3rd story apartment chanting "CO-MAN, CO-MAN" who is the newest of super heros! As my TV gets old and dies, I will await the arrival of CO-MAN, Our Hero!
What did I get for Valentine's Day? Nothing and I had to pick up the garbage in the snow...
TikiBird--I couldn't be more proud of Cody. :) And since Cody was kind enough to listen to me talk about the arc of the hero's journey one night when we didn't have TV, I thought this was especially fitting.
Anonymous, the crowds have dispersed in the wet weather, but their chants still ring in our ears and our hearts. You know, there's this little place you might enjoy run by a lady named Alice... :)
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