July 17, 2025: The After-School Ritual

I probably watched too much TV growing up.

Most afternoons during middle school, I followed the same routine: backpack dropped, shoes off, television on.

Then came the sitcom parade that shaped my worldview more than any textbook:

Three’s Company
The Brady Bunch
The Jeffersons
Gilligan’s Island
Wild Wild West

I didn’t care for daytime game shows, and soap operas bored me to tears. Primetime didn’t hook me either, unless there was sports on.

But once in a while, magic cracked the evening lineup:

The Incredible Hulk
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights

On Friday evenings, I also watched the opening credits of Dallas for that cool aerial shot of Cowboys Stadium.

These days, streaming has scattered TV rituals, and everyone views things at their own pace. This week, I saw an article about the top series of 2025:

Severance
The White Lotus
Stranger Things
The Bear
Andor
The Last of Us

All great in their own way, and I’ve caught a few episodes here and there.

But nothing beats racing home after school, unwrapping a Little Debbie oatmeal cookie, and hearing...

“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…”