Rant #2,543: Our (My) House

This mess that we are in with the pandemic is reaching fever pitch, or so we have been told.
 
Whether I personally believe it or not is another thing, as I outlined yesterday that the mixed messages that we have been getting about the virus has hurt, and not put us all on the same page when it comes to battling this thing.
 
But one thing that the virus has done is change our lifestyles dramatically, making the home our real sanctuary.
 
To me, the home has always been that, but people are now finding a lot of solace in where they live.
 
I was forced to find that out earlier than most people, as I lost my job about four or five months before anyone knew what the word “pandemic” meant.
 
But now, most of us realize that where we live is the best place to be, and perhaps the safest place to be.
 
And while at home, we can all take advantage of comfort food to make us feel better, but as for me, I made a vow early on that I was not going to raid the refrigerator while at home and I have pretty much stuck to that vow.
 
My indulgence? My hobbies, sort of comfort food for the mind, soul and body.
 
When I first lost my job, my record collection was my go-to thing, something that gave me a lot of pleasure, and it still does all these months later.
 
Digitizing my vinyl records—making them into MP3s and putting them on a flash drive so I can listen to my music in the car—has been lots of fun.
 
It takes up time, of course, but it also brings me more in tune with what I like and what I have liked over the decades.
 
My collection is literally from (A) dam and the Ants to (Z)ombies, and it is fun to put myself into my mindset of past years while listening to my record collection.
 
I go through phases with my collection, and right now, I am on a Nancy Sinatra jag.

 
I always liked her and her music, and although born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she carved out quite a nice career for herself, and from about 1965 to 1969 or so, she was one of our top pop stars, with numerous hit records to her credit, beyond “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.”
 
Sinatra had a release during the recently concluded Black Friday Record Store Day, which serves as a precursor for her entire catalog to be re-released on vinyl in the near future, starting with a greatest hits anthology set to come out in February.
 
I have most of her albums—or at least her hit ones on the Reprise label—in my collection, so I won’t need most of them, but I do have some missing pieces, so I will be watching the releases.
 
When I am done with my records, I move over to the television, which has been my “hobby” for probably my entire life.
 
My mother says that when I was a toddler in the crib, I would jump up and down when she put “American Bandstand” on the TV—when it was on five days a week—and really, watching television has been my method of relaxation seemingly since day one.
 
And now, I really gravitate toward older movies and classic television, the stuff that was new when I was growing up.
 
I cannot get into most modern television. I find it so inferior to what I grew up with, and other than a few shows—I do like “Young Sheldon” and I have been a “Survivor” fan since it first came on the air 20 years ago—I have tried, but I just cannot watch current TV offerings.
 
So once again, like with my record collection, I delve back in time to watch the old shows that I grew up with, and while some of these shows date from 50 or more years ago, they are still good, invigorating and yes, timely.
 
The other day, with absolutely nothing on with all the channels we have, I watched “The Munsters,” and I think I laughed as hard now at the show as I did back in 1965 when the show was new.

 
The show is perfectly cast, the writing still holds up, and while the show does go for belly laughs much of the time, it consistently hits the target as being entertaining.
 
Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Yvonne DeCarlo, Butch Patrick and both Beverly Owen and Pat Priest are just wonderful in their roles, a goof on the All-American family as portrayed in shows like “Leave It To Beaver.”
 
As far as I am concerned, the show has two classic episodes: one, when the rock group the Standells visit the Munster home on Mockingbird Lane, and bring all their hippie types with them; and the other, when Herman has a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers via Leo Durocher, who he hits on the head with a baseball off his bat that traveled eight blocks!
 
The latter episode was on the other day, and I hadn’t seen it in a while, but it is just so funny … and to think that I watched this when it was first on CBS more than 50 years ago! Incredible.
 
And yes, I am pursuing all of these comfort things while I am doing my remote job, but the job is so flexible that I can weave my way in and out of it with ease.
 
Sure< I wish I was still pushing my pen on paper at a real, full-time job, but I guess this will suffice as I dive fully into early retirement.
 
Look, I didn’t wish this on myself, but since I was thrown into this morass of joblessness, I have used my time for my betterment.
 
And it doesn’t hurt to play a record every now and again and watch TV when I have the time.
 
People who are home and don’t know what to do with themselves … I really feel sorry for you.
 
You can’t find anything to do in your own home?
 
I think people who don’t know what to do while they are at home have more problems than simply boredom.