Day # 148

We have cut the cord. Well, we’ve cut the cable. No cable TV in the Jimenez household, which essentially means no TV at all. No more commercials, no more trash, no more canned laughter on the Disney Channel. Thank God. It’s liberating. Like a blackout with lights.

Stay with me, here. If you live in South Florida, you know what it’s like to go a week or two or longer without electricity. You start getting to know your neighbors; you find other things to do instead of sitting in front of the TV. You speak to your spouse and your children, you bond. It’s wonderful.

So, I decided that the next natural step in A Year without News was to cut the cable. I still have a couple of hundred DVDs and I can always go rent a movie. Of course, football season is here and… maybe this wasn’t such a bright idea after all. No! I must be strong. I must stick to my guns.

I had already made the decision to stop watching TV and, for the most part, was easing into it nicely, although the last couple times I couldn’t sleep, I watched TV through the night. Amazing what you learn! Did you know that football coach Jimmy Johnson has a little wee-wee? He must because he’s pushing miracle-grow pills at three in the morning. How sad. Nothing is sacred.

What this means is that insomnia just got productive.

This will be hardest on my kids. They asked me why the TV wasn’t working. I told them it was disconnected and they nearly flipped. Literally, I thought I was going to have a mutiny on my hands. Like most things parents do for the good of their children, it may hurt a little, but it will be the best thing for them in the long run.

It’s one more step, a very important one, on my path to reaching my potential. 217 days before I cut the internet. On second thought, no!

- Adolfo