Editor's column: Enjoying a view other than the TV

By Mike Bollinger

I, like probably a lot of other people, am guilty of sitting around and watching entirely too much television.

While I know it’s not the best use of my time, I still find myself glued to the thing more often than not. As I have discussed in a previous column, a lot of it involves watching far too much Tennis Channel.

Recently, and particularly since it hasn’t been about 100 degrees outside, I’ve tried to do other things. I have a pile of books that I haven’t read, so I’ve started one of those. I have a nice patio with a comfortable chair, so I have also taken to sitting out there.

I’ve found I like the patio more than I thought I would. Sometimes I take the book out there and read, and other times I just sit there and enjoy being outside.

Note: I am very good at just sitting around, and am extremely accomplished at doing nothing. So, sitting on the patio and enjoying the fresh air is pretty easy for me.

Another note: Sometimes, if the wind is blowing exactly right, the air can be a little too fresh. There is a pig nursery at the end of the road I live on. It’s a good ways from the house, so 98% of the time I don’t smell it, but there is the 2% of the time that the aroma is, let’s just say, not the best. I try to look at it like the piglets are bacon in training, and there’s nothing better than bacon.

Interstate 40 is literally close enough to my back door to hit with one of the tennis balls I watch all the time, but I find the sound from the cars doesn’t really bother me. I do wonder sometimes why so many of the cars, and particularly big trucks, wind up hitting the rumble strips on the side of the road, which makes a distinctive sound. It seems driving on the actual highway is hard for some people.

There was some entertainment from the interstate on a recent day when the brakes on one of the trucks got too hot, and he had to pull over near where my house is. Fortunately, he was able to keep any fire from spreading until the fire department could get there and hose down the truck.

At times, there’s something to watch while sitting. There are farm fields around my house, and occasionally they are working at the same time I’m sitting. The owner of the property I live on has also begun to do some land clearing adjacent to my yard, so watching that can be entertaining as well. Heavy equipment can turn a wooded area into a flat, clear piece of land in no time.

I’m sure some people think sitting in a chair on the patio and doing nothing is just as much a waste of time as watching television, but at least I’m outside, and I think the fresh (most of the time) air is better than sitting inside the house.

I am guilty of probably checking my phone too much while outside, but I’m working on doing that less, too. As I move along in life, I’m finding that using electronic devices less is a good thing.

Hopefully, I can continue in that direction.