The Observer...

TV. I LOVE it. It can make you laugh, cry, and if you're my sister Lenice, and it's Michigan football season, it can also give you a very unique form of Tourettes Syndrome. 
Drama. Comedy. Action. No matter what the subject, sometimes it's just fun to waste some time in front of the ole' "boob tube". Yes. I called it that. What?!? My parents were old when they had me, and that's why I have weird looking thumbs, call my wallet my pocket book and say things like "boob tube". So there. Also, my parents' age at the time of my birth, explains my mild case of ADH- Oh LOOK!!! A shiny piece of metal! Wait. Where was I? Oh, that's right. TV. I LOVE IT. 
LOST was my all time favorite show, and now, similar to Michael Jackson, it is gone. too soon? Although ESPN, The Office and GLEE have done their best to fill the mysterious island sized void in my heart, recently,  they have been accompanied in their efforts, by FOX's scientific thriller: Fringe. 


Fringe is a show my BFF encouraged me to start watching a few months ago. It is awesome! Mystery, science, humor and also: Dawson's Creek breakout heartthrob Joshua Jackson!! So, I'm watching Fringe on DVD and I'm almost halfway through the 2nd season. In every episode, there is one common character that presents himself. He is called "The Observer". The Observer is hella creepy. He just observes the "goings ons" around the globe. So far, there are three of these scary men, and they all look the same. And by same, I mean, a less hot version of Matt Hasselbeck, QB for the Seahawks. They wear black suits, black hats, eat lots of pepper on their food, and I'm approximately 73.6% sure that at least one of them is living in my closet. All of that, is the creepy part. 
There is a sad part. The sad part is, that they just observe. They are NOT ALLOWED TO REACT. They have been around forever. They have witnessed the sinking of the Titanic. They remember the Alamo. They witnessed Lincoln's assassination. But that's it. Those crazy men weren't able to save Leo from that huge ass iceberg, they weren't able to- well, you know, participate in whatever happened at the Alamo, and they weren't able to chase after Boothe, or high-five him- whichever side of the coin they found themselves on. They.just.watched. BORING!!!!!


I've recently decided that I don't want to be an observer. It sucks raw eggs. I want to be a do-er. Now don't get me wrong, I've had some smashing good times just observing. I once observed my niece Arielle attempt to exhibit her historical knowledge by telling me that Anne Frank was the lady who wouldn't go to the back of the bus. I've observed an open pack of Levitra in my parent's dresser. (WTF?!?!) And finally, I've observed how not amused certain people can become when you attempt to reenact entire portions of "Billy Madison" at their expense. Yes. I've done my fair share of observing, and its great. But come on!!! We don't want to be a generation of watchers do we? 


I would encourage you to NOT be just another observer. Let's make a change! We have been standing on the sidelines for far too long!!! (que Gangsta's Paradise background music) 


We need to rise up! So I think that from now on, I'm gonna tell that extra joke. I'm going to give that extra smile, and I'm going to take a page out of my man Eminem's book and "stop living down there, and start living up here!" (8MILE reference!! woot woot!)  Let's do it!


Because in the end, the Observers may have pimp-tastic fedora hats and their own 897 character written language, but they don't have any of their own experiences. They have nothing to show for their time. No scars, no broken hearts, and certainly no collectable shot glasses. I'm ok with a few scratches, a few tears and maybe even a few hospital bands- I think it is well worth the life of a do-er. =)