TNBC and East of Eden

For some reason the song from the opening of the 90s Saturday morning show City Guys is in my head. Here's a refresher:

Good times. That made me think of all those shows on Saturday morning. Is there a word to describe that genre of shows? If not, there should be. Oh yes, TNBC! Some of my observations:

1. I totally forgot about California Dreams. "Don't wake me up!/Don't wake me up if I'm dreaming."

2. I don't recognize anybody from Saved by the Bell: the New Class. I mean, besides Mr. Belding.

3. All Saved by the Bell episodes were better when they were off-site like when they get the job at the beach or country club. Those were the best.

4. Has Hang Time never heard of Title IX? There is no way that you can't have a girls basketball team in this day and age. Also, you need to raise your hoops to 10 feet like everyone else. We all know those kids on the show are dunking on 8-foot hoops.

5. Don't preach at me during these shows. Saved by the Bell doesn't need to tell me the dangers of caffeine pills ("I'm so excited,/I'm so excited,/I'm so....scared!"). Role the clip:

Or Hang Time and the dangers of cigar smoking. I don't know why I remember that episode specifically, but I do.

So, those are my thoughts.

I'm currently re-reading my favorite novel, East of Eden, and I am entranced all over again. Steinbeck's got it going on. One of my favorite quotes in the beginning is when Steinbeck talks about the 30-year rain cycles that bring both rain and drought. He ends the section by saying, "And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way."

Now maybe this is a stretch, but it got me thinking about the importance of following the church calendar (excuse me while I push my glasses up with my index finger). I think the church calendar helps you remember the dry years during the rich and vice versa. I think there's something good about having great joys in your life happen during Lent or great sorrows during Easter. This reminds you that: a) not everything is about you and how you are feeling, and b) there is both reason to lament and celebrate in the midst of any of our personal triumphs or tragedies. The birth of a child (for example) does not change Jesus' slow march to the cross, nor does an untimely change Jesus' rising from the dead and conquering death once and for all so that we too have the hope of being raised out of death. Obviously, from a pastoral perspective I wouldn't force people to lament when they're happy or celebrate while they lament (definitely not the latter), but I think it is a way for us to remember the dry or rich seasons when we happen to be experiencing the other.

That's all. Now, I'm going to go to work (packing up boxes of books for a professor). Later.