Skewing Old

I live a rich, full life.  I work full time.  I write a weekly blog.  I sing in a choir.  I perform in a musical theater production at least once a year.  I usher for the Pittsburgh Public Theatre and go to shows all the time.  I like to eat out.  I have a smartphone and a laptop computer, and I am beginning to think about getting a tablet (and I mean an electronic device when I say that, not several sheets of lined paper on a piece of cardboard).  I have 466 Friends on Facebook (who range in age from 10 to 85), and I have Twitter and Linked In accounts.

You know what else I like to do?  Watch TV.  Actually, I LOVE to watch TV, and always have. There is nothing that makes me happier than the chance to spend an evening at home watching TV.

  

I was between the ages of 18 and 49 for a while and those were some tough years for me financially.  I went from being a near-penniless college student who had rely on my parents (who were in their 50’s) for money to being a recent college graduate with a low paying job in my field (who sometimes skipped meals to make ends meet) to being a married person who didn’t make a lot of money with a growing son who needed to be fed and clothed, to being a recently divorced person in her mid-40’s who was more broke than she had ever been in the past, to being a newly remarried person with a son in college (and that cost money).

Now I am in my 50’s.  Finally, I have a little breathing room in my finances; I can actually make the occasional purchase just because I want to buy something. I actually have money to spend at my discretion.  Oh, I think I forgot to mention that I also like to shop.

I’m pretty sure my story isn’t all that unique- lots of people pretty much experience this same scenario.  So, can someone please explain to me why the TV advertising industry reveres that 18 to 49 demographic so much when people in their 50’s have so much more money to spend on whatever they want to spend it on?

I find it hard enough to understand why a network would cancel a modestly successful show that “skews old.”  But Harry's Law is a show with nearly 9 million viewers on NBC, which is a struggling network right now. It is their second highest rated serial drama.  Were they grateful for the rare hit show, starring the incomparable Academy Award winning Kathy Bates? No, actually they cancelled the show, because, sadly, most of those viewers were over the age of 49. 

They said advertisers didn’t want to pay much to advertise on the show.  They couldn’t be creative and target some companies that sell products to the over-50 crowd?  Yet, they are keeping shows with half as many viewers because those viewers are between 18 and 49, who have less disposable income and who are more likely to watch TV shows in a way that don’t include commercials than their “elders.”  And the TV industry wonders why it is struggling.

Seriously, this feels like age discrimination to me. I’m no longer desirable to advertisers simply because of my age, because there is no other reason that possibly makes sense.

All I know is I am really going to miss Harry’s Law, and so will 8.9 million people like me.   

Towanda Becomes Electra

We saw the Pittsburgh Public Theatre’s production of Electra the other night. It was pretty good. Like most plays written by Ancient Greeks, the players just talked a lot – about what had happened, what was happening now, and what they would like to see happen in the future. I can sum up the plot for you in three words. Electra was ANGRY.

From the moment she crawled onto the stage until the play ended about an hour later, she growled, she wept, she wailed, she gnashed her teeth. She had her reasons to be angry. Her mother and her mother’s lover murdered her father and were now ruling the kingdom together. Her sister told her that there was nothing to do but accept it but Electra was bent on revenge, which, for some reason could only be exacted by her brother Orestes, who was out of town. You know- typical family stuff.

I got confused when Orestes showed up and Electra didn’t recognize him, but I found out later that they hadn’t seen each other in 20 years. Wait. How could Electra possibly have sustained such intense anger and fury for 20 YEARS? I’m surprised that she didn’t spontaneously combust.

Maybe Electra could take a lesson from Towanda on taking immediate action on your anger.

In case you are unaware, Towanda is the aggressive alter ego that meek, mild and middle-aged Evelyn Couch, a character in the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, creates for herself. In one scene, Evelyn is waiting for a parking spot only to have two younger woman take the spot from her, saying “Face it, lady, we’re younger and faster.” Evelyn mutters “Towanda” and then rams her car into the back of their car several times. She then tells them, “Face it, girls, I’m older and I have more insurance.”

I had a Towanda moment myself recently. One day last week I was driving in a parking lot, minding my own business, when a car started pulling out of a parking space in front of me. I simultaneously hit the brakes and laid on my horn, but the driver didn’t hear or see me, and proceeded to back into my car.

I was annoyed but not really angry. Accidents happen and she was going slowly. The “damage” was more of a scratch than a dent, and certainly not worth worrying about. She was clueless, so I nicely explained what happened, and told her I was willing to forget about the scratch on the car. I was headed back to my car, not even waiting for her to say “thank you,” but the lady who just backed into me wanted to talk more about it.

“Well, I guess that’s okay, because we don’t really know what happened,” she said

I reminded her that we DID know what happened – she backed into me.

“But we don’t know whose fault it was,” she said.

I could actually feel my blood pressure starting to rise. I explained that SHE hit ME – it was her fault.

This chick wasn’t done. “Actually, I didn’t see you and you saw me, so it was your fault.”

Okay, I was now Towanda. “BECAUSE I saw you I stopped the car. My car was NOT MOVING when you hit me, ” I was shouting now.

“No, it was definitely your fault,” this witch said, haughtily, “You should thank me. I am just going to forget it, even though my car is brand new, not like yours. You’re lucky.”

Suddenly, the intensity of my fury matched Electra’s.

THANK her????? I wanted to bitch slap her. Would that have been wrong? Actually SHE was the lucky one. I didn’t take her insurance information, or drive into the back of her car several times (although the thought did cross my mind). And, because I neither own nor carry a gun, I did not shoot her on the spot. That WOULD have been wrong, of course, and this, my friends, is why I am a firm believer in gun control. That kind of homicidal overreaction is what got Electra’s family into such a pickle to begin with.

Instead, I went to Dress Barn. I found a beautiful lightweight sweater that I loved. I needed to get a smaller size because of my recent weight loss, AND it was 60% off. I bought two in different colors. I could feel myself calming and my blood pressure returning to normal. Yes, there’s nothing like a little retail therapy to soothe the raging beast. Maybe Towanda and Electra should have tried it.