Television

I grew up watching so many hours of television that by the time I entered college I felt supersaturated and considered it a complete waste of time. Through undergraduate and graduate and early marriage years, we had so much going on that television time was greatly diminished, to my delight. I didn't miss it. However, as our kids grew the TV reappeared, entertaining them and giving my wife and me a respite from our long work days. It was relaxing to come home, sit back, and just be entertained. The TV can be educational, surely – with programs like "60 minutes" and "Frontline" – but comedies ("Mary Tyler Moore" and "Everybody Loves Raymond") and dramas ("ER" and "LA Law") hit our sweet spot.

Reading does this too. It can entertain, be educational, and stretch our minds in ways television probably cannot. And certainly, television can be a tremendous waste; indeed, it can be a mind dissolving experience. But it has redeeming values, to be decided by each of us. The clincher for me is that it allows me to share an experience with my family, in real time: when we watch together and talk during commercials, and laugh or share an emotion during a moving scene.

I’ve often complained about how bad television is, but I can't deny that some of the cherished times I've spent with my family - with my parents as a kid; with my kids as a parent; alone with my wife - have been spent watching a good show on TV.