While my niece has been staying with we've kind of gotten into a bit of a routine, in order to share the most valuable resource in the house - the TV. Mostly she watches her teen soaps and music videos (I'll tell ya, those kids with their boom-de-boom-de-boom) during the day when I'm at work. Then we have joint shows that we watch together (Middleman, How I Met Your Mother). Then she huffs and rolls her eyes while I watch boring programs like Intervention. But I'll give her that she's been a little soldier and kept it down to a dull huff.
One of "my" shows that she's started watching with me is AC360 over on CNN. I've cut back on my CNN while she's with me, and she's been good about what I do watch. And she's kind of started joining in when I start treating current events like a soap opera - "Mmm-hmm. Somebody better tell Cindy McCain she better check herself. Guuurrlll." She especially digs the science stuff.
But she's started asking me a lot of questions. First let me state that that is a good thing. Young people curious about the world we live in should always be encouraged. But my living room has turned into a quiz show. "Where's Zimbabwe? Who is James Dobson? What is a Libertarian? Are the oil companies bad? Why doesn't Anderson Cooper die his hair? What is up with Bill Clinton? Why do we still have levees? Why do we still use the Electoral College instead of the popular vote? Why isn't there a viable third party candidate?" Uhhhhhhhhhh. I . . .
You can't really have any illusions about how knowledgable you are when you've got a teenager going Tim Russert on your ass. They can sense your weeks spots, and they just start hammering on them. For instance, my understanding of African politics is pretty weak. I tense up when they mention Robert Mugabe. If she starts asking me about what's going on there I'll just fall apart under questioning. I'm going to have to go study up. The kid asks the tough questions. I wonder if that Meet the Press job is still open. I might have a good candidate.
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5 comments:
Wow! I don't envy you. The only thing I know about Africa right now, is that Zimbabwe is the most unhappy country in the world. The happiest? Denmark. Interesting.
I saw that about Zimbabwe. I guess having your democractic elections highjacked can be a bit of a bummer. Ask Al Gore.
Those jolly Danes. Just goes to prove my old theory: pastry makes you happy.
Pastry, free healthcare for everyone, and close proximity to Amsterdam. lol
I can just oicture her earnest peppering - they should have a 411 type number for these teens with a news FAQ set-up "to get caught up on the Israeli-Palestine situation press 1"... personally I'd use it fairly frequently myself
Earnest is definitely the word. As she cocks her head to the side and innocently interrogates me like I stole the Lindbergh baby. Thank god for the internet, or I'd be major screwed.
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