Staying Out of Trouble

Little fact about me: I love cop & detective shows.

One factor that I feel certain has impacted this prediliction is that I was allowed to watch almost unlimited television when I was a child, and in those days, tha halcyon days known as the '70's, there were lots of cop and detective shows on TV,  both first run and in syndication. The Rockford Files. The Streets of San Francisco. Adam-12. Hawaii 5-0. Starskey and Hutch. Police Woman. Kojak. Barney Miller.  Charlie's Angel's. Vega$. Hart to Hart. Loved them all.

Something else that I'm pretty certain influenced my viewing tastes was growing up in a virtual crime wave.  Kids reared in the 1970's amd early '80s were the first generation of children to come of age in an era of tremendous criminal awareness.  Stranger Danger, Officer Friendly, no candy from strangers, kinds snatched from school restrooms.  On top of that, we had the Hillside Strangler, Son of Sam, The Green River Killer, The Zodiac Killer, The I-5 Killer, Ted Bundy, The Atlanta Child Murders. And more.

So, I watched these programs for education as well as entertainment.  If I knew more about these people and their tricks and ways, I'd be able to avoid them and their traps.

My affinity for this genre of television programming continues to this day and includes shows such as Law & Order, MI-5, CSI (the original ONLY), Luther, The Killing and Psych (it's cute!).  However, I now also enjoy "reality" cop & investigative shows, such as The First 48, Solved, Wicked Attraction and Cold Case. The kinds of shows shown on that channel that used to be called Court TV, but for which they changed the name a few years back, and on which at least half of their current programs start off with someone whispering "Investigate!". There are lots of them and they provide me with many hours of diversion while I knit.

Watching these reality programs has actually taught me quite a bit about the criminal element and how terribly different most criminals are from me, so allow me to share my wisdom and offer up these

Tips For You:

1. Know your friends last names.
2. Know your friends' first names.

That's about it.  If you're the kind of person who knows the first and last name of the people with whom you spend the bulk of your free time, you're likely to stay free.  On the other hand, if most of  the people in your circle you know only as Man, "Cuda, Tron, Black, Whitey, Red, J. Roc, Goo Man, Money Mike, Murder Mike, Junior, Lil' (Pete/Joe/Jon/Whatever), Crazy 8 or Pretty, you need to re-assess your situation.