Whoopi saves the day!

“Can you see what is happening?  Pleasssssse tell me.”  That was my frantic plea to my family, one evening this past winter break.  Bruce Wills was just about ready to jump off the bridge in Die Hard 3 and I was taking a well-deserved break from the tiring task of chewing non-existent nails when it happened. 

Du-doom, du-doom, du-doom…….

That was the collective pounding of 4 hearts in front of our TV.  Samuel Jackson and Bruce Willis were lighting up my living room with some serious action.  My dog lying next to me suddenly yelped.  Caught up in the movie, I might have squeezed his neck a bit too much.  Oops!  I felt bad.  I took my eyes off the TV for a quick second to turn and apologize to Luke.  Guess what happened when I turned back to the big screen.  The movie was not there.  It was a bad case of that ‘Poyindhe, its gone’ ad on TV.  Oh no, where did it go?  Who changed the channel?  I turned murderous eyes looking for the one with the remote control.   

The remote was lying untouched at the end of the couch.  Uh???  I hurriedly swallowed the fiery words that almost got out.  My husband and daughters looked up at the ceiling and muttered something after watching me put the brakes on fire-breathing.  It could have been a silent ‘thank you’ but I can’t be sure. 

I turned my eyes back to the TV.  Wait, I see something.  Is that someone running?  No, wait!  Was that an explosion?  Squeezing my eyes to a slit, I strained to see beyond the shades of grey on the screen.  I could hear the compelling voices of the classic duo so gave thanks for at least having the sound.  Well, I suppose I thanked the power above a bit too soon.  The audio faded out now finally leaving the 4 of us gawking at a 60“screen that had no picture and no sound.   

Then I remembered that trick.  I got up and thumped the floor hard with one foot.  I had seen Whoopi Goldberg do it in Sister Act.  One whack hard enough to trigger an earthquake in the next town but who cares?  One, it was in the next town; two, it worked.  At least the sound was now back.  Smiling widely, I took a bow and sat down.   This time, I decided to forego the edge of the seat and sit back comfortably.  After all, there was nothing to watch. 

Grabbing a bowl of popcorn each, we all agreed to take turns in thumping the floor in case sound went out again.

 

I wonder if Whoopi Goldberg knows how much she has touched our lives?