Friday night is movie night in the Paulsen house. We usually rotate the person who selects the movie, but last Friday was different.  Last Friday was the one hour Disney Channel Series Premier of “Star Wars Rebels,” which is a cartoon about well, um, Star Wars and rebels.  Well, the young Paulsen boys were very excited about this television event and after hearing three months of buildup, I also wanted to see the show.  Poor Charlene, however, tolerated the event and of her own free will sat down with us to watch.

All was well, we had our popcorn and the show was pretty good, as far as Disney Channel cartoon Star Wars shows go, and then all of a sudden… nothing.  To be more specific (or as our 5-year-old Ben says, “Pacific”), we had audio, but no picture.  All of the channels, no picture, just sound.  The little cable menu would pop up on the screen, so the television was okay.  Must be a cable outage or something.  Odd, but considering that it was almost bedtime and we were taping the show anyway, because who does not record a Disney Channel Star Wars Rebels special so that it can be watched over and over again until every word is memorized, we shut off the television and figured that we would try to find a rerun to watch the rest later.  Super Family Movie Night Buzzkill.  I suspect the Dark Side of the Force had something to do with this tragedy.

Heading off to bed ourselves, Charlene and I had largely forgotten about the show’s disappearance and I suspect that Charlene was somewhat relieved, but very kind not to express her feelings. Then I thought I would check the scores and watch the end of the baseball playoff games, when I remembered about the television problems.  Sure enough, the picture was still out, so I embarked on a journey of a thousand miles, which began with a single push.  Yes, I entered the phone number for the cable company and began to navigate the auto attendant menu.  No, not a bill question.  No, turning the cable box on and off does not fix it.  No…  no more questions!  Let me talk to a person!  First, Star Wars, now baseball!  What will they take from me next, my soul?!?

Getting an actual person on the line, I answered all of the same questions that I had answered for the auto attendant, who by the way sounded like she may have been related to Siri, although it never came up in our conversation. The cable operator was helpful, given that it was a Friday night and he probably would rather watch the baseball game or Star Wars or anything rather than talk with me at that moment.  After running through all of the other options (including jiggling all of the cords running to the television…  really, this is what I was doing on a Friday night…  jiggling cords on the back of the television…  this is what my life has become), he suggested something I had not tried, unplug the power cord from the wall that leads to your cable box.  Oh, come on!  I already tried turning the thing off.  Isn’t that the same thing?  Oh well, why not?

Reaching down in the dusty forgotten land, between the bookshelf and the television cabinet (I know, “Television Cabinet,” so retro), I prayed that my shots were up-to-date. This is a land of deceased bugs, dust bunnies, and sadness.  A land where I should not be fumbling around with my hand in the late night hours.  Nevertheless, this is what I needed to do.  This was my mission.  Obi-Wan would be proud.  “Use the force, Dave.”  Sorry, geek out moment, back to the story.  There I was reaching between the bookshelf and television cabinet, I grabbed the power cord and pulled it out of the wall.  Still cradling the phone on my shoulder, the cable customer service rep, who would rather be watching baseball or Star Wars or doing anything other than talking with me, instructed me to push the plug back into the outlet.  Pushing it in, suddenly there was a flash, a “pop,” and then silence.  My helper on the phone had vanished.  The line was dead.  It was almost like the entire essence of his being was transferred into this last ditch effort to correct the problem, then he was gone (more likely something to do with our bundled cable/Internet/phone service, but I prefer to think of it as a moment of spiritual transformation).  Shrugging at the mystery of my vanished helper, I set down the phone and turned on the television.  Magically, it was back.  Sound, picture, everything.

Now, I know that there must be some scientific or mechanical reasoning for the rebirth of our television, but in these mystical moments of life, some things are better left to the philosophers and theologians to explain. May the force (and your television’s picture) be with you, always.