Entertainment here we come.
It’s a funny thing, this need for people to be entertained.
Think about it. We work to pay the bills, keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, keep the kids happy, etcetera… For the most part, that manages to take up most of the time.
Or it used to. Count me as one of those outside the box. While I don’t have children, there is a fairly demanding pair of cats to be kept in kibble. And they also demand attention along with amusement. Much like a fair number of people I know, they get bored. Easily bored…
Sure, the same going day in and day out is monotonous. Nothing new under the sun there. In the 1890’s, my great grandfather worked as a vaquero at a series of ranches in central Nevada. It was life on the back of a horse, dull, seven days a week and pretty much the same every day. Free time was something of a non existent concept. You worked through the day and slept when you were done.
A yearly occasion was the round up of wild horses out on the land around the ranches for shipment east by rail. A rear amusement during that time was for someone to try and ride a wild horse for a pot of cash put together by the ranch hands. That glorious sum? Maybe all of six bits, say around 37 cents.
So, when you look at today, the wonder of the age is that we all have free time to enjoy. And with the electronic wonders at hand, there are plenty of things to take up that time, without even venturing beyond our own doorways. Not to mention movies, games, television, hobbies, sports or the watching there of, collecting and on and on… How we decide which diversion to fall into is something of a mystery.
Let’s face it, we humans like to be entertained. We have ever since the first of our ancestors stood up at a fire and told a tale. Something to stir imagination, a tale of a successful conquest or a prosperous hunt.
Give props to that guy or gal who was brave enough to stand up and share. They probably took a portion of grief and skepticism for doing so. Yet perseverance paid off. And all who came after, from pulp novels to music halls and vaudeville through radio, television, motion pictures and more all carry on that tradition of sharing the story, keeping the audience entertained.
Not a bad profession. It pays off, hopefully in many ways, including paying the bills and keeping everyone in kibble, too.
PS: It’s an interesting time for me right now. So, I’m going to try and keep writing for a bit of set and centered as it were. Hope you will enjoy what comes from the keyboard.