When I was young, I thought people this age were having very sophisticated conversations about culture, politics and the like.
Maybe it is me. Maybe it is the people that I hang out with. But for the most part, we seem to be talking about two things: sleep (specifically our inability to do it) and what we are watching on TV.
I swear that I know the following about most of my friends: what kind of sleeper they are, what time they go to bed and wake up, do they spend time awake at night, what sleep apps they use (and what their sleep score is), and what they take to help them to sleep.
I am fortunate that Bruce and I have the same sleep patterns. They are awful, but at least they are compatible.
It turns out, we are both incapable of sleeping in. And by sleeping in, I mean sleeping past 3 a.m. for me and 4 a.m. for Bruce. People express disbelief and concern when we tell them this. But we aren’t sad. We’re delighted. Bruce gets up and plays guitars. I do the New York Times puzzles and work out. Plus, we catch some killer sunrises.
Just don’t call us past 8:00 at night. And if you happen to see us out past 8:00 at night, be very nice to us as we are most likely grumpy at that point.
While we love going out to dinner, live music and seeing our friends, our idea of a great night is to do any of those things and still be in our pajamas by 7:30. If you know us, you know this to be true.
If the conversation at gatherings with friends is not about how poorly we slept last night, It’s about what we watched while we weren’t sleeping.
There are several parts to this conversation. First, of course, is the show itself. Bruce and I love the crime dramas, particularly the British ones. A few of our favorite series are The Wire, Justified, Foyle’s War, Vera, Shetland and Unforgotten.
Then comes the more complicated question: Where do you find it? Honestly, I zone out on this part. I never thought I would be this person, but despite seven years of higher education … I don’t know how to find the channels. It’s so complex these days.
Every once in a while when Bruce is cursing about still paying for a channel we don’t watch, I have this momentary thought of, “I should help” … and then it passes.
Finally, there is the question of when the newest season will actually appear. This is particularly problematic with British shows. I will see an announcement that one of our favorites is returning on a particular night. We put it on the calendar. We look forward to it.
The night arrives. Bruce checks BritBox. Then PBS. Then Amazon. Then YouTube.
Twenty minutes later, after considerable frustration, I look it up again and discover that I had written down the British release date. The American release date is “undetermined.”
At almost sixty, the supposedly sophisticated conversations of adulthood have turned out to be about whether we slept and where the hell to find Shetland.
Now, if anyone knows when the next season of Blue Lights will actually be available in America, please let me know. Just don’t call after 8:00.
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