Make Love not War.

I stepped out of my comfort zone once.
It happened at Grandma's Restaurant in Canal Park.
While dining amongst Duluth's finest, those that wear North Face clothing and pretend to know about marathons, I ordered from the  left side of the menu.
I thought a Wild Rice Burger sounded "earthy". Maybe even "healthy". I thought I would get a balanced concoction of ground beef and what the Ojibwe refer to as "mahnomen".
I got a meal on a fancy bun made from some fancy bread that I've long forgotten. I got a decent sized patty dressed in grasses and leaves, grains of rice magically held together with sprigs and twigs. By all accounts, it was actually a pretty good burger except they left out the ground beef part.
Apparently I assumed wrong that a Wild Rice Burger would have burger in it.
I missed the fine print that no doubt stated...
"this delectable entree given by Mother Earth contains no MEAT and although its taste is bound to hypnotize you into thinking you've discovered another conquest to add to your bragging board, this baby will have you running for the closest Biffy in urgent need to flush out the inner workings of you digestive tract."

I gambled and lost.
I am not a Vegan. I am not a Vegetarian. I am not a Hippie.
I am a red-blooded, flag waving, gun owning, meat and potatoes guy.

But I recently stepped out of my comfort zone...Once more.

Michele and I unplugged from the television world.

MidContinent Cable no longer "bundles" my money all the way to their bank. The only Dish Network that I'm interested revolves around our dining room table and good family conversation. Direct TV has left their satellite dish on the southeast corner of my house just in case we decide to give them another shot but that thing might as we'll be placing Carry Out orders with Marvin the Martian because I'm not turning it back on any time soon.

We've had good intentions to unplug for a few years. Every summer it seemed as if we watched less and less TV.  Yet the bills kept coming and we kept paying. If the TV was on, it was usually only just white noise in the background as we were passing through. But invariably there were times when we'd be sucked in to the allure of zoning out and tuning in. It is an addictive and bad habit.

So we pulled the plug.

The last official day with cable happened while I was escaping with the other Kirby men to the Boundary Waters. To test my resolve, I slid back in to family life and wondered how the culminating series of the Stanley Cup was unfolding and if I would miss those late night, double overtime games.
I didn't.
I haven't watched ESPN or their awe inspiring Top 10 in 29 days and somehow I am still breathing. I have not watched local, national or even galaxy news in close to a month and I DON'T CARE! A Roku box was brought in to ease the transition and wean our kids off of the tube and I have not dialed in to that bad boy once. For 8 American dollars a month, Netflix has kept my children in constant supply of such Disney classics as "Austin & Ally" and "Pair of Kings" but I think the novelty of that is wearing off too.

No more land line telephone either - saving all the more of my money that Midcontinent Cable "bundled" right out of my pocket.

I am proud to have finished 3 books already this summer - we'll on my way to achieving the Jacobson Elementary "5 over the Summer" goal. (I hope I get a Gold Star!) That's 3 books before the corn was knee high in July!
I'll even admit it. I may have learned a thing or two about "Love Languages" from the book my wife suggested. I read a decent collection of creative Outdoor Essays called "Haunting Reverence" and just finished the biography, "Woman of the Boundary Waters." (Wow- next trip to the library, I really need to "BUTCH" up my reading selection.)
As I was saying, I've peddled more road of southern Pine County in the last 2 weeks and put on more miles behind the handle bars than I've done in years. I shoot my bow in the evening. I do more laundry. I visit with my wife and kids. I go to bed early.
So far, I like life without TV.

But I'm not a Hippie.