But like a junkie I returned to the scene of the crime looking for a fix. Something to take me out of the mundane, away from reality, my problems, weakness' and fears. It was down time and I wanted to get up.
At 7:52 last night I slipped the DVD into the tray of my Power Mac, slapped on the Sennheiser headphones, replaced the task chair with my favorite comfort chair (originally Mom's) and started over.
Season One, Episode one, Midnight to 1am. 24.
It came back to me in a hurry, the reason I like this dramatic imitation of life so much. It challenges me. It identifies my weakness, opens wounds and swabs them with salt. More than anything I like the idea of Jack Bauer. I like his impossible commitment to implausible morals, the insanely iconic. Here is one example:
"You can look the other way once, and it's no big deal, except it makes it easier for you to compromise the next time, and pretty soon that's all your doing; compromising, because that's the way you think things are done. You know those guys I busted? You think they were the bad guys? Because they weren't, they weren't bad guys, they were just like you and me. Except they compromised... Once."
I am now listening to Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About when I Talk About Running on CD in my truck. Not only is he one of my favorite authors, he absolutely nails many of the reasons I run. Here are two samples:
“In most cases learning something essential in life requires physical pain.”
"That was the rule. Break one of my rules once, and I’m bound to break many more."
Noticing any similarities?
I don't know if I can make it all the way through every hour of nine seasons of what I consider to be, perhaps, the case for TV, but I might. I might never run another marathon, but I might. Don't bet against it. Don't compromise and don't break any of your rules.
Welcome back Jack and hello Haruki.
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