Ode to Hallmark

Sitting around last Fall, I made a selfish decision to sit back and take it easy. After grilling a great steak for my wife and myself, and watching my Clemson Tigers roll to another victory on the football field;my wife and I decided to do something out of the ordinary and watch TV movies.

After some very intense channel surfing, I came across the Hallmark Channel. For those unfamiliar with this channel, Hallmark is what I term an "old-line" channel.  An "old line" channel is one that has programming reminiscent of the 1950's and early 1960's where storylines were mostly positive and good wins out over evil at the end of the story. Not such a bad thing in today's reality-based world where everything goes. So, we settled on a program and sat back and viewed the storyline with keen interest, which was wonderfully presented. 

As I watched the plot unfold, (a widowed fireman made a decision to leave his stress-filled world and open a comfort food restaurant next door to an elegant French restaurant with a beautiful female career-focused chef in charge), I began to smile. It was a great story reflecting life's possibilities. I observed with interest as the two main characters of this movie begin their relationship at odds with each other, only to come together in the end by virtue of the fireman's energetic and wise young daughter. I found myself saying, "Why not?” What is wrong with a positive story in today's age of reality? Why shouldn't people learn to interact and in turn learn to find each other interesting? What makes romance not possible between the elegant beauty and the hardcore, unyielding male? It is almost like bringing "beauty and the beast" to the realm of reality. I found myself smiling a lot and really, really enjoying the program the longer I watched.

As expected, the movie ended with a great positive flare. The two former battling restaurant primaries now joined forces and consolidated their restaurants and their lives. They were now focused on building a wonderful future together as the fireman's young daughter smiled and worked alongside her new family in their new restaurant. It was great seeing people smile, watching customers enjoying the food and the enjoyable environment, and life going forward happily ever after.

As the movie ended, I began to ponder the misplaced values that we seem to have in today's society. I challenged my thinking on what messages we might obtain from this positive theme so popular with former programs such as Leave it to Beaver; Ozzie and Harriet; Father Knows Best; My Three Sons; The Real McCoys; Andy Griffith; The Brady Bunch; Danny Thomas; and, even great westerns like Bonanza and Wagon Train. I began to consider how challenging our lives have become today. If we do not get sensationalism, we are bored and quickly lose interest.

 I arrived at the following insights:

• Time presses forward but the qualities of family, friends, and values remain available for all to enjoy.
• Hope reigns supreme in life. Where there is hope, there is opportunity for great things to happen.
• Nothing is ever forever wrong. Even stopped clocks find their time correct twice a day.
• We can learn to control our mind and actions so that we are not focusing on the problems at hand but are focusing on the potential solutions.
• Love exists in the world and with it comes the comfort and assurance that someone cares.
• In the end, opposites do attract.
• Baseball legend Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." In life, career, and interactions, we control much of our destiny and decide what is over and what remains active and alive.
• Laughter really is great medicine for the mind and soul.
• Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. It brings with it both pain and pleasure.
• Honesty builds character and character demands honesty.
• The simple things in life are the toughest to accept.
• The joys in victory can dominate our lives if we do not allow the agony of defeat to prevent us from learning.
• The past is the past and should not be used to sidetrack today and tomorrow.
• Listening is really, really tough. Even with two ears, it is difficult for us to hear.
• Patience is more easily spoken than acted upon.
• Children should be seen and also heard.
• Change happens. Changing takes work.
• A true friend is one who allows you to be you even when you aren't.
• Traditions are a part of life. Enjoying them is a part of living.
• Many people have the title leader but too few leaders really lead.
• Dogs have owners but cats have staff.
• With wealth comes responsibility. With life comes wealth.
• Reading is still fundamental. So is work.
• Exercise must be more than filling a tub with water, pulling the drain open, and fighting the current.
• People are really interesting if you make time to get to know them.
• Family meals still have value if you take time to have them.
• Speed often kills. So does complacency.
• Ego is a funny thing. It is always the other guy who has it.
• Time waits for no one. Just ask the person in the mirror.
• Dreaming is not so bad. It is waking up that can hurt.

The Hallmark Channel has its value. It brings thoughts of simpler times and yet realities that even in today's fast-paced, politically correct, and sensationalism-minded society that good can conquer evil. It offers that happy endings are possible and that life holds in its vast treasure chest the opportunity to have real, unencumbered satisfaction. What better joy can we experience than joy itself? 

So sit back, relax, and take it all in. Make time to hear the birds chirp; feel the wind blow; watch the sunrise; and, allow your dreams to carry you to lands where good defeats evil and life is happy. Who knows, you just may be lucky enough to sleep through the commercials.