Friday, September 30, 2005

Fifteen Minutes of Fame

While Mrs. Wonders sleeps, I take my morning coffee on the front porch and peruse the latest edition of The Daily Snooze.

***
On page three, I read a story about the continuing labour dispute at the CBC. The CBC is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, our nation's public television and radio broadcaster.

Some people think the CBC is a waste of taxpayers money. I could not disagree more. For me, it's the only thing worth watching or listening to.

When it comes to news, it's the only source where they might be telling the truth.

***
Below the article, there is a segment devoted to citizen opinions about the labour dispute. There are even pictures of those who were interviewed.

Front and centre among the pictures, I see Oscar's smiling face.

***
This is not the first time I have been startled by Oscar's sudden appearance in print or on television. For some reason, he's frequently asked for his opinions while strolling through the old town.

Oscar claims that he was voted "Most Likely To Be Picked For A Man-in-the-Street Interview" by his graduating high school class. This is probably true.

***
After the Burning Manor fire, Oscar was interviewed in The Sack by a local television station. He did a terrific job describing the fire and the neighbourhood's reaction to it.

As a condition for doing the interview, Oscar demanded that it be held in front of his garage. At the time, he was selling his second car. There was a large 'For Sale" sign on the car with a visible phone number.

When the interview was televised, the car was featured prominently over his left shoulder.

Oscar sold the car a week later. He says the buyer saw it during the television interview. I remain very doubtful about this.

***
Last summer, Oscar was interviewed by The Chronically Horrid.

He was at the Gay Pride Parade with his wife, G.W. and their son, Dorian. He was identified by the reporter as a heterosexual family man in support of the gay community.

Oscar was a bit miffed with the reporter's description. He felt the reporter was making an assumption about someone's sexuality, on the basis of their marital and parental status. He says he called The Chronically Horrid and complained.

Oscar says he told them his wife is transgendered. I remain very doubtful about this, too.

***
Whenever Oscar is in the newspaper, he will ask me very casually, if I have read the paper that day.

I make a point of saying, "Yeah, but there was nothing of interest."

***
Another time, Oscar was interviewed at the Cannabis Day Picnic by The Daily Snooze. He tells me that he was merely walking by the picnic at the time.

This could be true, but I will leave lots of room for doubt.

***
There is no accounting for the number of times Oscar has been interviewed by the media as an ordinary citizen. It is getting to the point where I am afraid to read the newspaper or watch the television news.

Perhaps the CBC labour problem is not such a bad thing after all.

***
In total, Oscar claims that he has used up approximately eight of his fifteen minutes of fame. He says he has very big plans for the remaining seven.

***

No comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails