COLUMNS--FEATURE SPOT, Opinion, Scot Beard
 By  Scot Beard Published 
9:00 am Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Radio reveals another of my odd quirks

I had a revelation Tuesday while listening to my car radio as the morning show hosts read a list of the Top 10 Stupidest Holiday Gifts. The revelation is I am a sucker for lists like this.

Coming to this conclusion was easy considering I sat in the car for 15 minutes to listen to the list, it was 5:30 in the morning and the only reason I was in the car was to back out of the drive way so my wife could go to work.

At first I passed it off as being interested in the No. 10 item on the list – kosher pet toys. I wondered why pets need kosher toys since, as far as I know, pets don’t have religious beliefs.

The hosts also took interest in the subject and the ensuing conversation was quite humorous. One host said all dogs go to heaven, the other asked if that included Cujo and I laughed too hard for 5:30 in the morning.

They moved to the next item before heading to a commercial break. They talked more about the kosher toys and I sat in my car patiently waiting for the list to resume.

In the end I was a little disappointed in the list, which included a toilet-shaped coffee cup, poo-shaped, strawberry scented soap and a Hot Guys with Baby Animals Calendar.

When my list-loving revelation hit me, I realized how much time I have spent paying attention to things I normally wouldn’t care about simply because the subject matter was ranked.

I watched all five hours of VH1’s “Greatest Hard Rock Songs of All-Time” even though I am not that big of a fan of hard rock. I watched VH1’s “40 Greatest Reality Show Moments” – parts one and two – knowing that I can’t stand reality television.

The C-SPAN could air a special about the 100 Most Boring Readings of Spending Bills in Congressional History and I would probably watch to find out which reading was most boring.

I know what you are asking – Couldn’t you just wait until the end of the show before turning it on to find out that answer? Nope, that feels like cheating. If you want to enjoy the reward, you have to work for it.

In this case to appreciate the No. 1 entry on the list you have to sit through the other 99 entrants.

This is another one of my odd quirks that drives my wife nuts. I don’t think she knows about my addiction to countdowns, but if I brought it to her attention she would say, “You’re so weird.’

She is right I do have my strange habits and eccentric ways of thinking that get on her nerves. I know there are many such items – I wonder which 10 she finds most annoying.

Oh great, there I go again.

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