Wasted

A few weeks ago I had a day off. I had a day where I literally had nothing to do; Monday was non-school, non-basketball day for me. It was a wonderful day off from the chaos that has been my life these last few weeks with games almost every other day and subbing almost four days a week since January. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the work, love the sport, and love the rewards, but when I got a day off, I took advantage of it. Not in the way that you might think though, some of you may call this a wasted day, but others, well, you might admire what I did. Just before the Christmas break, I injured my back which resulted in me going to a chiropractor and getting fixed three times a week. I am on orders not to engage in anything to strenuous so as not to undue the work being done. I bring this up so that you understand why I did what I did.

My wife and I have a Nintendo Wii, and on this amazing device is our Netflix. SHE got me hooked on this by the way, so if there is anyone to blame it is her. 

I was flipping through the vast array of old movies and tv shows to watch when I came across a show I had never heard of before, and is no longer on. The show was called Hidden Palms. Written by Kevin Williamson, the writer of Dawson’s Creek, the Scream movies, and other teenage TV dramas. I read the description for the pilot and thought, what the heck, I’ll give the first episode a try.

By the end of the day, I had watched 8 episodes, the entire first season, and well, the entire series of the show, which lasted only 8 shows. To say it was addicting is putting it mildly. Here is the premise:

Johnny Miller, a studious and level headed high school junior, witnesses his father’s suicide and spirals downward into a world of drugs and alcohol. He goes to rehab and 6 months later, the show begins… His mother, remarries the father’s business partner and moves to Palm Springs in the summer in a lavish and almost perfect community where luxury and wealth run rampant. There, Johnny meets next door neighbor and community jerk, Cliff Wyatt. The kid who gets whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Across the street is Liza, the pretty quiet girl who spends her days in the garage conducting experiments in hopes that one day she will work in pharmaceuticals. Then there’s Gretta Matthews, the hottie with secrets. She’s also independent being that her mother passed away from leukemia when she was nine and her father is a high priced attorney who is never around. Johnny learns that the house his family has moved into has a secret. The teenage boy who lived in the room, Eddie, committed suicide, in the very room that Johnny sleeps in every night. WOW, like Johnny needs this over his head. Over the course of the show, Johnny learns that Eddie was best friends with Cliff, dated Gretta and was secret bff to Liza. Secrets become uncovered with each show and we learn that it wasn’t suicide but murder. Johnny tries to find out who killed Eddie and why.

I don’t want to give anything about plot away, but let me tell you, riveting. I wanted to see a season 2. I wanted to know what happened next. I wanted to see the next phase of this show.

Now, yes, it has its flaws, has its problems. Parents are drunk and arguing all the time, kids have not boundaries and no morals, and don’t even get me started with the dress code. This is Palm Springs, in the SUMMER. I’ve been there during this time, and at no point in time would anyone be caught outside in black shorts or pants, a black t-shirt, and a HOODIE…. A HOODIE! Come on. You would spend the entire time in an air conditioned home and rarely go for a swim because you would get sunburn quickly. Not here, they golf, the wear lots of clothes, they bundle up when they go to sleep, it’s ridiculous. However, the stories grab you, and they keep you coming back.

I regret nothing about watching this show. Yes, you might think it was a wasted day, but I didn’t. My wife thinks otherwise, and she and I joke about it, but I am glad I did it. Now, I am back at work, back at school, and I am a happy man. I highly recommend that if you have a day like I did, take advantage of it. There is nothing wrong with relaxation. You may call it wasted, but I call it fun. I think life needs to have more fun in it. Don’t you?

Until next time
P