Before DVR, I seldom watched TV. The remote control resides in John’s hand whenever he’s home, oftentimes while he’s sleeping through his shows. He watches sports, Westerns, and precious little else, so I would happily sit in my reading corner and read books. If ever I had control of the remote I couldn’t find anything to watch, anyway.
But with the advent of DVR I’ve discovered there are shows I actually like! Property Brothers, who find and remodel homes that end up in the 700,000-800,000 range. Too-modern style for me, but amazing transformations. (They never would have sold me on the stinky cat house, though. Been there, done that, got the PTSD.) The Middle and Raising Hope, dysfunctional family sitcoms so absurd they crack me up. A couple of cooking shows, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
And then comes the feature I really love—the stopping and backing up of the show! The show is recorded and when a phone call interrupts or a husband snores really loudly or you go off imagining yourself using that amazing outdoor kitchen, you can magically back up the show and watch it again! It even works when you haven’t taped the show. You can pause and start again, or rewind. It’s amazing.
I think I’m DVR dependent, though. I find myself wanting to stop and back up in other areas of my life. The car radio: Should I be getting out of the car and lying as flat as possible in that wet ditch beside the road? Better take another listen. A fascinating conversation partially overheard in a coffee shop? Would be nice to know what happened prior to the point where the police were called on Aunt Phyllis.
I especially need a pause-rewind button for Sunday sermons when the pastor repeats something, repeats something with emphasis, repeats something with a little added part to it. After a few too many repetitions my brain goes off on its own, reminding me I need to stop for potatoes after church and that next Sunday I need to bring canned goods for the food drive. I notice, not for the first time, that the woman in front of me wears the worst scent since Evening in Paris, and those two little boys are poking each other with pencils and why don’t their parents notice what’s going on? Once again I’ve derailed and probably missed the important, the most important, the most relevant and important part of the whole sermon.
What are the times you could use a pause-restart or rewind button? Or is it just me?
