Taxes or a shark attack?

We've re-connected our television to the outside world today. Though I may regret it, we're giving cable television another try. It doesn't seem the most likely way to improve my life, but maybe -- just maybe -- I'll find something to watch that's worth the $5/month it will cost me for the next twelve months.

Jonathan Goldstein did. I'm thinking back to an article I once read by a clever newspaper columnist and radio host named Jonathan Goldstein. His article even relates to what I wrote yesterday about fears, and also reminds me of the unavoidable tax forms I need to fill out this month. Check out how television helped him on one occasion...

"I am watching a documentary about sharks, and I am somewhat saddened that the sharks just don't seem to be scaring me the way they used to. When I was a kid, I used to spend about 80% of my time worrying about being eaten by sharks. This was during the '70s, and I guess that with all the movies -- Shark!, Jaws, Jaws 2 and Jaws 3-D -- everyone was. Going to the beach was an act of daredevilhood. I remember dropping a hardboiled egg into the surf to see if a shark would come and get it -- to see if it was safe to swim -- and my dad yelling to never mind the shark, he was going to murder me with his bare hands for wasting eggs.

"But nowadays, or at least on some days, being eaten by a shark doesn't seem so bad. I mean, it would be bad, but after the first couple bites, I suspect it would be no worse than putting up a carport, or listening to someone talk about their RRSP contribution.

"I have financial matters on my mind this evening because I've promised myself, despite it being one of my major anxieties, to get a head start on my taxes. But instead, I continue to watch the documentary on sharks, nostalgic for old fears and still unwilling to confront new ones."

© 2010 by Ken Peters