So I Started Watching Parks and Rec. and other Netflix gems...

An episode a week

Reflections from one of my new favorite TV shows

To begin - my boyfriend and I recently picked up a new habit - binge watching Netflix shows.  I know, join the club, right!?  We are catching up on some that fell by the wayside (The Walking Dead), there are some that we skipped while they were popular back in the day (Dawsons' Creek), and the Original series of course (Orange is the New Black, Lilyhammer, etc...) all helping us get our "fix."  One of the best viewing choices we made = Parks and Recreation.  I'm a fan of Amy Poehler, and basically the whole cast now.  While watching, there have been a few episodes that had some "lessons" that rang true/coincided with events going on in my life.  So I thought - maybe use this as a starting point for one of my "sections/blog topics."  This being my first entry of this type, I will try and stay on track as much as possible, but please forgive me if I go of on any tangents (I do it more often that I would like - OR the reverse - I  have lots of ideas swimming in my head... they then try and come out all at once, and I get a bottleneck effect.  Wham.  Stuck).  <-- Tangent!!  

 ** I apologize if you haven't seen Parks and Recreation.  If not, you should at least try the first 5 episodes.  I will try and touch on different shows when possible.  :)

Episodes 2, 3, & 4 - Season 1:  When Leslie and Ann become friends.  Leslie (Amy Poehler's character) is trying to better her community, and during a town meeting, Ann (Rashida Jone's character) brings up the fact that there is a pit pretty much in her backyard.  Ann's boyfriend, Andy, has fallen in this pit and broken his legs.  So, she is trying to get the city to take care of it.  Classic tale of how two awesome people become friends, right!?  Yeah... Not so much.  ;-)  Over the course of the next few episodes, Leslie tries to help Ann out with her problem while Ann simultaneously helps Leslie with hers - fill the pit and create a park on the land.  Yayy!  

By the time you get to episode 4 of season 1, Leslie and Ann are pretty much friends (instead of acquaintances).  They work well together. Leslie invites Ann to be on the committee to help get the park up and running, and they end up becoming a great team.  Sounds like a fairy-tale to me.  1. Woman meets other woman at random event.  2. Woman decides to help other woman with her problems.  3. Woman finds they have similar goals and can fight for them together.  4. Other woman accepts - and they take on the world while getting to know one another - AND even though they aren't much alike to begin with, they honor and appreciate their differences... and build a lasting friendship.  Now, that might have came off as a bit sarcastic, but honestly, it would be a dream come true if I were able to be either one of those women.  

I have fabulous gal pals, don't get me wrong here.  BUT - pretty much 95% of them were formed from bonds created while in Grade School, High School, College, or Long hours on the job together.  The other 5% were made through my already good friends, so I guess I should give them most of that credit; for having cool friends.  :)  To be clear, I believe that the way I have formed the relationships with my gals is awesome.  Nothing "bad" about it.  I think it's amazing that I am still friends with my girls from 3-year-old Pre-School (no joke).  They kick some major butt, and I am honored that they have put up with my crazy @$$ for all of these years.  (I'm 31, so that's 28 years).  I am merely stating the fact that I think it would be a miracle if I were to meet a new gal pal in the way Leslie and Ann met.  This is because, I believe, most of us are not open to it anymore.  

First, Leslie and Ann had no idea who the other one was before the meeting - barrier #1. If I don't know you - it just became exponentially easier to ignore you/your problems.  Where did the empathy go?  It's lost somewhere in the time space between The Real Housewives of Wherever and The Bachelor.  I'm not saying stick your nose in every ones business, but when you can help, why not try?  There are tiny things we can do for each other that can make a great impact.  Most of the time, it's just listening to another person get something off their chest (hence the millions of blogs that you can read), or helping someone make a decision.  Being a friend.  Common sense mixed with caring can go a long way.  :)  My best friend just met another "mommy friend" as she calls her, and had a great "mom date" while their kiddos played and they were able to chat about life.  Totally awesome, and exactly what I would love to see more of.  Spontaneous giving a crap about others.  JOY!!  :) 

Second, I don't work for a company that allows the public to hold a forum and discuss where we can improve.  I got one nasty e-mail in three years and it was actually meant for someone else.  The fact that Ann was upset with the city, and Leslie represented the city, and they were still able to get past that second "barrier" and work together is practically unheard of.   We like to brand each other B*****$ so quickly.  "She works at the phone company?  WELL, I was overcharged on my last bill, I'm mad at that company, so she must be a horrible person."  Craziness.  A gal you know had too much to drink and slept with a weird dude at a party?  What a hooker... right?  WRONG!!  Just because it's not something that you would do, doesn't mean it becomes your business to judge.  So many times in life, you hear of other women talking behind acquaintances backs because they did something they don't deem "normal."  They lose out on who that person really is because they don't "agree" with one or two small behaviors of the other woman.  Supporting other women in the event of a one night stand, sad times, happy times, whether it be large or small, only makes us all better.  Not judging someone by a few of their behavioral blips (behavioral blips:  an action a human being committed once or twice out of temporary loss of judgement, nervousness, surprise, etc. that actually doesn't describe their character at all) makes you a better person.  Have a heart.  You can know equally juicy info. about someone that's POSITIVE.  

Third & Fourth, Leslie and Ann's interactions begin by canvasing the community together for the park, doing an interview with the paper to promote the park, and finally bonding over a few brews in episode 4, while hanging with the guys in the courtyard.  Note: I leave out episode 5 because by that time, Ann is Leslie's "date" to a banquet (where Ann is jokingly called Leslie's "trophy wife" great inside jokes arise - boom - they are friends) <- there's one of those tangents.  Back to the point.  I don't see women doing that much anymore these days, and at risk of sounding like a total sap, it makes me pretty sad.  You don't have to start having sleepovers and braiding each others hair right off the bat - it can be at a meeting or bettering your community, and why not, over a cold one. What's that you say... you don't drink and she does - well all the more reason to hang out...  Allowing the other person to be different or imperfect (often seen as flawed - which is bogus) can be harmonious too - it's how we learn from each other.  Accept each others differences and quirks to get to know the actual person underneath.  Taking a chance on someone is worth the effort.  

So many people have been burned in the past and it hinders then from trying.  There are too many shows on TV where Jr. High and High School girls (let alone grown women) undercut each other, spread false rumors, and work at keeping one another down for their own personal gain - or worse - for their own amusement.  Then we watch, or our nieces, daughters, sons, aunts, whoever, and emulate it like that's what life should be like. Well, I'm here to say I like the Leslie and Ann way MUCH BETTER!!  I've been there, and I can tell you that you're only hurting yourself more by doing that.  They took a chance on each other and over time it paid off.  You only need one thing to build a great friendship on, and everyone has this one common goal, happiness.  

To conclude, I'd like to say THANK YOU Parks and Rec. For giving us a positive example of how we can meet new people, expand our horizons, and take a chance on another person.  No vindictive behavior, no icing each other out after one fight, no BS, just plain old BFF love.  Showing us that being ourselves is so important and allowing others to be themselves it just as awesome!!  So, one of my new years resolutions is to reach out more to people in my community and see where I can help.  Then maybe, just maybe, I'll find an Ann or Leslie out there to pal around with.  :)  Here's to new friends and relationships in 2014!!  Yayy!!  :)  

I jazz it up a bit - decided to use some pics of the BFF's the article is based on.  
Leslie and Ann.  

Their motto.  LOL

Camping/Hunting Pals

                 And since I mentioned a Happy New Year - A pic of Me being goofy on NYE.  

HAPPY 2014!! Here's to new gals pals
and being nice to one another.  Awww!!