Lawrence Welk explained.

A vivid memory of my childhood is the sight and sounds of the Lawrence Welk show. I can hear the man saying, "A one an a two" as he counted on the next number. I can see the set with  the blue curtains and the bubbles and the singers and the band. It was on PBS every night after dinner....my dad's passion or perhaps just his kindred North Dakotan spirit. Or so I thought.   Fast forward to my house. And every night on television is something like House or CSI or Seinfeld...entertainment everyone likes. So when bedtime rolls around, nobody wants to go. They want to finish watching the great show...just one more episode...just ten more minutes...just until the next commercial...please, please, please, PLEEEEEEZE!   But the other night I happened to have the clicker in hand and was flipping through a few channels making my selection and a show caught my eye. It was the Celtic Women special on PBS. I paused briefly with no real intention of spending more than a moment when my children immediately started to question this decision - no one it seemed wanted to watch Celtic Women except for me. With a flash of clarity I realized that I had stumbled onto more than just some Reubenesque women in flowy gowns who could sing and fiddle. I had found the antidote to the begging for more TV. As the show went on the kids showed only the briefest passing interest, both boys, Tween and Youngest, took note of the generously porpotioned size of the women (even at ages 9 and 12 stereotypes of female beauty are already firmly ingrained) and Bookworm inquired whether there would be any dancing Ala Riverdance. But that was it and then they just filtered out of the room off to other pursuits. I was left in peace.   And so now I wonder...did my dad even like Lawrence Welk or did he simply like that we didn't like Lawrence Welk? Hm-mm....I'll ponder that one while I Tivo a few more gems for the nights when I am ready for some peace and quiet even if it means I have to have my peace and quiet accompanied by big band music, or Celtic tunes, or Gregorian chants.