Growing up is hard to do.

It may make me an old lady, but I've developed a wonderful Monday night ritual: snack food, half a Woodchuck hard cider, and Ozarks Public Television. This evening is far more enjoyable if I've worked a full day and need to turn off the brain for the night. Getting back into the swing of the work week requires a culture shift that apparently takes a lot out of me.

It starts with Antiques Roadshow, at 7pm. People bring their treasures, priceless or otherwise, to the appraisers. Could this silver set from my aunt's attic be worth thousands? These ancient comic books we found beneath the seats of an old truck we found - are they worth anything at all? The thrill of the possibility of a hidden fortune brings people to wait in line for hours for appraisers to tell them what they have - or don't have.

Someday I want to go. I have two books I got at a yard sale that I'd just like to know more about. I know they're not the next big find, and probably wouldn't make it on the air - but I'm just so curious about where they came from! My librarian tricks are all exhausted. They're coming to Tulsa in July, but I missed the ticket application deadline. Alas.

After Antiques Roadshow is American Experience. Jon and I stumbled onto this program one night when nothing else was on, drawn to a documentary about a strange, charismatic preacher named Jim Jones. I'm not sure how we both missed this chunk of American History (maybe because every history class I ever took stopped at WWII). We knew the jokes about drinking the Kool Aid, but ignorant of where exactly they came from. That's not a story you want to stumble into on a Monday evening, but after seeing other stunning and moving presentations on subjects from the Panama Canal to the Freedom Riders,* I've developed a deep taste for the depth of information and cultural wealth they offer.

So if I wasn't sure of my official "grown-up" status from my recently-developed hatred for dandelions in my lawn, I'm certain of it now. Level up!

Love,

Katie

*If you haven't seen the new presentation on the Freedom Riders, I strongly recommend it. It's superb. You can actually watch it online.