Go Ahead and Hit Snooze

I like watching television just as much as any other American who has one.  I tend to multitask most of the time so usually it's background noise I glance at when I hear something that peaks my interest. I don't care for dramas or even most sitcoms although I will sit through an episode of House if I come across it as I flip through channels.  Basically I like to keep it pretty simple and stick to the same channels - Discovery, History, and Syfy (I still don't understand the spelling change).

There are also a handful of competition shows I regularly tune into - one of them being The Amazing Race.  Usually this show provides some cultural value as the teams race around the world as well as comedic moments and can sometimes trigger feelings of mild disgust at the way the racers treat each other under pressure. Every once in a while, though, there are moments when things happen on the race that are just plain touching and even a little inspiring.  The most recent episode is one of those.

On the previous episode, there was a team who actually came in last place but was spared being eliminated because the team ahead of them had broken a rule and incurred a 60-minute penalty.  If you believe in luck then it definitely was on their side.  On the current episode, they started out by over-sleeping nearly 2 hours at the start of the race.  They were already behind the other racers to begin with but now they had added more distance between them and everyone else.  The universe was with them, though, and they actually ended up back with the pack before the next challenge.

If you've watched the show then you know that it's common for them to bottleneck everyone at some point to even up the odds and make the show more interesting.  What the producers DON'T plan for (and CAN'T plan for) is the human element that is brought out when everything seems to be going downhill.  And this is where it gets most interesting.

After over-sleeping and then catching up with the pack, the boyfriend proposed, she accepted, they completed the challenges swiftly and accurately, and wound up in a head to head race for first place.  They actually came in second but the team in front of them had also made a silly mistake and incurred a 30-minute penalty which put this seemingly ill-fated team in first. Oh, and they won a trip to Belize as icing on the cake.

Not a bad day after all.

What's my point?  Next time I over-sleep (and it WILL happen), instead of cashing the day in without giving it the proper chance, I'll try to remember what a spectacular day it turned out to be for this couple who will be honeymooning in Belize courtesy of CBS.

I better go to sleep soon...I don't want to test my memory right away.

You can watch the episode by clicking here.