"THE OFFICE" SHOWS US WHY WE NEED TO DISTRACT OURSELVES:

My husband hates "The Office", so I hadn't been watching it until I started recording it for my friend who cannot get NBC, as she picks up by antenna the channels from Binghamton, New York. She told me about some of the scenarios from the shows, and I said, "Oh, I don't watch it, I just record it for you." We usually like the same things, so I then began reviewing the tapes myself before loaning them to her to watch. Well, at first I thought Michael would drive me crazy with his being so politically incorrect. My God! He says the damnedest things! [It's a show one either loves or hates, I guess.] But that show makes me laugh out loud like no other... and we all need a good laugh at this point in our American lives.

Last night I was reviewing the episode from November 12th, and a feeling of doom or hopelessness came over me. I couldn't imagine why, because it was one of the funniest episodes yet, as they played a game 'like Clue', but not. They call it Belles, Bourbon, and Bullets. Let me quote parts of how Wikipedia summarized that episode:

"The day gets off to a rocky start when rumors from the Wall Street Journal point to financial troubles for Dunder Mifflin. In an attempt to get the worried staff under control, Michael (Steve Carell) and Jim (John Krasinski) call the monthly staff meeting to provide what few assurances and optimistic viewpoints they can on the steadily worsening news. In a moment of quick thinking, Michael pulls out a party game, Belles, Bourbon, and Bullets, and forces the rest of the staff to play along. Jim tries to stop him, citing that today is one of the few days they cannot afford to play around, but is reminded that he owes Michael 'one' after he stopped another idea called 'Tube City.'

"The game is set in Savannah, Georgia, and everyone has to find out who amongst the party goers is the murderer (from clues and questions they are given)....Almost everyone present starts to play along."

Their taking on the characters along with appropriate Southern accents was absolutely great. I didn't understand the game, but was having such fun watching. Steve Carrel as Michael gets so into the game, that Jim and Pam, begin to worry about his mental state, as if Michael really thought he was back in 1955. Steve's Savanna accent was wonderful, and he managed to be adamant enough about others assuming their character, that just about everyone maintained their role, against Jim's good judgement. But when really pressed with what could be really bad news, Jim sees value in what Michael is doing. [again from Wikipedia]:

..."Dunder Mifflin['s] CFO David Wallace (Andy Buckley) finally returns the phone calls to Jim, and reveals that while nothing has been officially decided yet, Dunder Mifflin is expected to be insolvent by year-end. Knowing how damaging this could be to his staff, Jim deliberately hides this news from them and nudges them back into the party. At the end of the day, Jim is 'happy that we have two co-managers today,' realizing it helps having someone to distract people from pressing issues."

Point is... about there I had this feeling of doom come over me for the rest of the evening. After a night's sleep, I picked up the notebook this morning to I write my thoughts, and after pondering my mood of the night before, I realized that the reason Tom and I search for good programming each evening after the nightly news, until we turn in at night, is because we also need distractions. Just as no one can do much when working in an office which it caught in the economic downturn, there is not much we can do from our living rooms about the Nation's downturn. What Jim actually says about the way that Michael had the office distracted was something like this. "If your ship sinks, and you manage to get into the lifeboat with your family, maybe it would be faster if both parents were at the oars, but sometimes a parent has to play games with the children so they won't be so overwhelmed by the disaster."

I even thought back to what I'd heard about Hollywood surviving the Great Depression, as more people than ever were still going to the movies. People have to either be distracted by entertainment, or do as I do and take a walk to a high hill and look out over this great earth, and proclaim that "God is in Heaven and All's right with the World." It's not for me to say not to do anything, but despairing is absolutely not the way to go. I had identified with The Office's despair. At the end of last evening, I picked up the Sue Grafton ABC Mystery novel I'm now reading, and read until I was sleepy.... (Hmmm, A bit like LA's version of Bells, Bourbon and Bullets.)