The TV on the porch has been off for several days. I finally turned it on to watch the progress of Hurricane Ike. For two days I have been glued to the tube, switching between the different channels to get every shred of information possible about the hurricane. Ike was a terrible storm. It’s going to be very costly and take a lot of time to rebuild Galveston and the damaged Gulf Coast. I’m very lucky to be in my safe shelter on the porch, but watching the ordeal on TV was almost as bad as being there, especially being subjected to the barrage of commercials.

I got a little sleep after the eye went over Galveston, then woke at dawn to find out about the damage. Morning TV is almost solid commercials. Over half the commercials are for drugs. No wonder prescriptions are so expensive. Every drug advertised has a million disclaimers. My favorite is the Viagra commercial where this man and woman are dancing around in their house and they finally dance into the bedroom where they close the door and then leave it to your imagination if the Viagra works. They warn you to call a doctor if an erection last over four hours. You might need a heart transplant if that happens. When I was a kid I looked at National Geographic as my source for pornography. Now it’s on the TV commercials. The one for Celasis is also neat about the time being right. It shows a shot of this man and woman sitting outside in separate bathtubs looking out into the sunset. That’s a little strange.

The lawyers are doing a lot of advertising. The most popular lawyer ad is to get help if you have mesothioloma from asbestosis exposure. There is one about contacting this firm if you have had problems taking Digitex and the latest is about contacting a specialized law firm if you have kidney failure resulting from the contrast used in MRI scans. There is one drug advertisement after another from Lipitor to Tylenol. The drug companies are sick.

My favorite commercials are for the Geico and Aflac Insurance Companies. I love the cute little reptile mascot and the Aflac duck. The latest neat ad is the baby with the voice of the adult. He is so cute I don’t even pay attention to what he is advertising.

Anyway, it’s one commercial after another and it’s one of the reasons I don’t watch much TV. Ike was a horrible thing but the only good that came out of it was that it kept the networks from boring me with Obama and McCain and their quest for change. I had almost forgotten they were running for something and had come to think that Sarah Palin was now the one running for president.

I’m glad things are settling back down and just hope that they can rebuild Galveston again. I consider myself very lucky to be on the porch rather than the Gulf Coast.