I have a confession. I watch Everybody Loves Raymond… religiously.
I can quote every episode. Marie’s passive-aggression, Robert’s mopey disposition, Ray’s predictable blunders, I laugh at them all.
Considering the show began in 1996 – I was 5, for those trying to do the math – I can presume that my enjoyment of the sitcom is indeed a rarity. The combination of relatable family dysfunction humor and comforting repetitive scenarios just works for me. I have worn out the DVDs of various seasons and now have the show added to My List on Netflix. In this delightfully digital day and age, I can carry Raymond with me wherever I go.
My point is this: I enjoy nostalgia.
I have an iPad, an iPhone, a laptop, a desktop, TVs, a PS3, a Wii…on and on and on. I am not hip enough to pretend that I do not watch TV or check Facebook frequently. Saying that I laugh at Everybody Loves Raymond does not afford me any level of mystique, such as claiming to adore Jane Austen or silent films might (though I do own a well-worn copy of Persuasion). I simply enjoy the humor and predictability of a classic sitcom.
Following this logic of nostalgia-derived pleasure, I recently renewed my membership at the Rogers Public Library.
Second confession: I had to pay a $30 fee from 2003.
Apparently in my youth, I had neglected to return a few Nancy Drew novels. I am a rebel. Nonetheless, after months of driving past the library I had frequented as a pre-teen, wondering what the selection might be like these days, I packed up a fidgety one year old and marched into the Rogers Public Library.
The same feeling that I get when inserting a Raymond DVD into the PS3 washed over me, a feeling of contentment and teeming joy. How had I forgotten the delight of a public library? I walked out with three books in hand, my mind reeling at all of the free – that’s right, free! – stories available to be read.
Everybody Loves Raymond and the Rogers Public Library are not particularly profound. They are not innately connected, but to me, they hold a lesson. They are reminders to pause on occasion, to not worry about buying the next new thing or laughing at all of the right jokes. A chance to say, yes, this book is old and crinkly, this video is low definition, but I don’t care. In 40 years, I want to say the same about my relationship.
I loved the way you tired the two things together! Maybe that’s why I too enjoy that sitcom! It’s ironic to think that sooner than we think, we too will be out of date, just like our electronics. I look to the future with such optimism because I’m making sure to take time to stop and smell the roses, as well as several other reasons. Thank you for this reminde, Jaime!