My Weapon of Defense Against Reality

Those of you who know me well, know that I am not the most laid-back person in the world. In fact, I'd more likely be awarded the "Anal Retentive" prize, and I have the mouth ulcers and stomach problems to support that statement.  I can fret, wring my hands, and lose sleep at night with the most neurotic among us. However, I discovered something in high school that helps me decompress even better than a bubble bath, a good book or a glass of wine.   

I first watched The Dick Van Dyke Show on a snowy day at my grandmother's house when I was about ten-years-old.  The episode was "Talk to the Snail," which admittedly has a pretty silly plot.  I liked the show because even back then I thought Dick Van Dyke himself was pretty great (Mary Poppins was my favorite movie as a kid).  However, it didn't become the secret weapon in my self-help arsenal for several more years.  Once I finally discovered how great this show actually is,  I made it my mission to record every episode (on VHS, of course), so that I would have a complete collection to help me through the many stresses of life.  You think it sounds ridiculous, right?  Well, you're entitled to your opinion.  I, on the other hand, felt it was a necessary thing to do and I spent the next two years attempting to record all 157 episodes, which came on in the middle of the night on TV Land and programming was sporadic at best.  When I was finished, I had eleven VHS tapes filled with my favorite show and a typed list detailing which episodes were on which tape for ease in watchability. You think I'm kidding.  I assure you, I'm not.

I now have the complete series on DVD and I couldn't begin to tell you the number of times I've watched each episode.  I know most episodes by heart and I especially enjoy the ones that prominently feature Rob and Laura's next-door-neighbors, Jerry and Millie.  I'm not sure why this particular show has such a calming effect on me, but I came to rely on this show when I was in high school and college and fell in love with all of the characters (except maybe their son, Richie; he was a bad actor even by the standards set in the 1960s).

I have always thought the part Dick Van Dyke played on the show was perfect.  To me, he was the ideal man: a handsome, funny, talented writer who adored his sometimes-neurotic wife and always seemed to love her unconditionally, even when she royally screwed up.  Even as a teenager, I related strongly to Mary Tyler Moore's character, Laura Petrie, and hoped that one day I would marry a man who was a lot like her Rob.  I wanted that life, so it was easy to become lost in the simplicity of it.  I guess I still lose myself in the simplicity of it.  And even though I now have a wonderful husband (who actually is very much like Rob Petrie), beautiful kids and a nice home, life is just plain hard sometimes and being able to escape to an easier time is really quite a wonderful thing...especially when the problem can be solved in just 30 short minutes.  

For the record, here's a list of my very favorite episodes:

1. "My Blonde-Haired Brunette"
2. "The Curious Thing About Women"
3. "The Death of the Party"
4. "Never Bathe on Saturday"
5. "A Vigilante Ripped My Sports Coat"
6. "Punch Thy Neighbor"
7. "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth"
8. "Who Owes Who What?"
9. "All About Eavesdropping?"
10. "It May Look Like a Walnut"
11. "I'm No Henry Walden"
12. "The Night the Roof Fell In"
13. "My Husband is Not a Drunk"
14. "The Life and Love of Joe Coogan"
15. "My Husband is the Best One"
16. "My Neighbor's Husband's Other Life"
17. "October Eve"
18. "The Plots Thicken"
19. "Long Night's Journey into Day"
20. "The Great Petrie Fortune"