"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."

Thursday, October 05, 2006

24

At 3:22 am, I found myself lying in bed wide awake for the second night in a row. These periodic bouts of insomnia are most unpleasant. Not enough rest seems to more than counteract the increased energy I normally derive from running.

The real cause of this random malady is unknown although I have my own theory as to why it’s reared its ugly head this time. My wife Beth and I have been overdosing on 24; seasons 1 – 4 in a misguided attempt to catch up before the new season begins in January.

We had never seen the show prior to a few weeks ago but had been told by others it was worth a look. So we’ve been renting the videos … non-stop. As a result, we have consequently discovered that our friends failed to mention this program is damn near as addictive as a heroin and crack cocaine cocktail. It’s also incredibly intense and thus winds me up like a double espresso macchiato.

Ergo my theory.

So anyway, we finished season 4 last night and will no doubt embark on 5 beginning tonight as Beth is determined to be on the mark for season 6’s debut. (Will I ever get 7 hours of sleep again?)

Watching this as we have (back to back to back to back) has revealed some things which I believe may be less noticeable when viewed normally, i.e. weekly. For example:

At least once an episode, Jack, the lead character says to someone, “You’re just going to have to trust me!” Invariably, this phrase is uttered to someone who is in a dire situation where their gut instincts are repeatedly screaming, “Run away! Run away!”

Generally however, they do not run away and as a result, are subjected to some unpleasant yet uniquely creative methods of torture thereby reaffirming my belief in the value of following one’s initial instincts in a crisis.

Also, every time a key bad guy is killed before he has yet to divulge all he knows, Jack screams, “Damnit” as if by this act alone, the recently deceased terrorist will be resurrected long enough to puke out enough info in order to avert a national disaster of epic proportion.

And then there’s Tony, the terse, single word response whisperer (“Yeah”) whose voice rarely rises above one octave and who must have sustained a debilitating neck injury at some point as his head is always cocked at an unnatural angle.

By far my favorite however, is President Palmer (former president in season 4). He is the epitome of calm and has the uncanny ability to always look as if he has just showered, shaved and dressed regardless of the fact he has been up for 22 hours dealing with the onslaught of Armageddon. I’m waiting for him to work in, “That’s Allstate’s stance. What’s yours?”

Don’t get me wrong, I think the show is very entertaining and as I said, very intense. These things just stick out.

At any rate, at 4:30 I finally got up, got dressed and got out there. I felt like a blob of lead, barely oozing along for the first mile or so but finally found somewhat of a groove and ended up completing 5.

Yeah …

“In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that.” – Anonymous

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