Tom and Jerry

Since I’ve been on the subject of T.V. so much lately, I suppose I’ll go ahead and talk about it a little more. This one, I must say, is the most fulfilling of them all.

Sitting around the white plastic table in my host family’s living room, loaves of bread laying on its bare surface, turkey stew or dolma sitting there, waiting to be eaten, we’re, of course, glancing, at least from time to time, at the T.V. It’s pretty customary around here to have the tube going, and I’m kinna neutral about it. On one end, it diverts our attention away from each other, but, on another end, it, well, diverts our attention away from each other. Simply put, I must say it’s nice, sometimes, to be able to just watch the T.V. without feeling like I have to make conversation (Sometimes, you can only think of so many things to talk about.), or maybe I’m just being lame. Whatever the case, I’m getting a little off the topic.

Every now and then, Rustəm’ll give me a nudge and excitedly tell me, “John, Tom and Jerry! Tom and Jerry!” You know this show, right? Well, I certainly hadn’t forgotten about it, but let’s get serious here. That show rarely comes on T.V. anymore in the States, so it was a lovely reminder of the simple fun those shows provide. And, yes, much like the other program featuring American jackasses jumping off their roofs, language isn’t a problem. Both Rustəm and I derive the same enjoyment from our favorite cartoon.

Perhaps you’ve picked up on it already. Yes, I get as excited as Rustəm does when Tom and Jerry comes on. I can’t help it. Number one, I love cartoons, and, number two, it’s so dang refreshing to watch such a show while I’m living far from home. I felt the same way in Brazil when I discovered The Pink Panther cartoon came on every now and then. It’s not only entertaining, but it’s also a reminder of such pure fun, which seems forgotten much of the time. Nowadays, things seem to be made more complicated on purpose. Instead of laughing heartily at Roadrunner and Coyote, we’re peering into people’s “lives” on reality T.V. shows (which they also have here…not a fan). Instead of enjoying another episode of Looney Tunes, we’re playing computer games about stealing cars (I only say that because the folks at the Internet café play “Grand Theft Auto”...all the time.) For me, it took living in Azerbaijan to remind me that there’s nothing wrong with kicking back and having a laugh at what we’ll hopefully never forget.