Layers

When I'm watching television, I like my story lines like I like my booze: slightly sweet and completely straightforward. I get irritated when the writers start messing with the characters by peeling back the layers of their personalities. Take this season of House, for instance. Dr. House is brilliant, funny, and a complete ass. He treats everyone around him like shit but they don't abandon him because of his brilliance. Until this season. All of a sudden we're learning about his relationship problems with his parents, his insecurities with women, his inability to have adult friendships, and his utter failure at building emotional bonds with those around him. And now we know why. I liked him a lot better when he was as ass for the sake of being an ass rather than for having all of these worthless emotional layers.

I tell you this because it kind of reminds me of my dad. He's a big, gruff guy who doesn't take shit from anybody and if you cross him he won't physically hurt you but he will tell you to fuck off and die in a way that is totally appropriate for a preacher and doesn't use any cuss words. (Talk about brilliant!) He is impatient and has a hard tone to his voice that sometimes makes him seem rather unapproachable. When we were kids it was like pulling teeth to get us to talk to him or ask him for something. We always went through my mother because she is a much softer person. (And also because she didn't like to spank us but would pass us onto him for that kind of punishment.) But as hard and difficult as he is, he has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever known.

My dad has a very special relationship with the cats. My cat Lola and my sister's cat Max live with my parents right now. Max has lived there for about 10 years, so I'm thinking my sister isn't planning on taking him back. But Lola is my cat. I found her when she was a teeny tiny baby and I plan on having her with me again someday (soon, I hope.)

Lola has been feeling under the weather today and so mostly she's been laying around on the couch and cuddling with whomever happens to be closest to her. But she doesn't want you to touch her - she just wants to lay near you. Right now she's laying near me staring at the wall (and in my head I hear David saying, "Whoa. That's a wall.") Before my dad left the couch to head to bed he leaned over to Lola and gently rubbed her ears and said, "It's okay, baby girl. You'll feel better tomorrow." Then he told me goodnight and he went to bed.

I guess the reason I hate seeing layers develop in my favorite characters from tv is because of the emotional effect it has on me when I begin to see the layers develop in my favorite people in real life.