Conan Who?

*Disclaimer: This post is longer than what is typical for me but the story had to be told for our posterity!

Okay, I will say it....I am really irritated that Jay Leno has gotten his way and is able to land back into his same late night TV time slot that he gave up for his prime time show. He seemed to think it was a wonderful idea at the time. In the process of that push back into late night, Conan O'Brien gets pushed from the NBC nest and I have yet to hear where he will land.

Now, Tim and I have not always been Conan fans. Truth is that he was on too late at night for us to really even know if we liked him. Midnight was pushing the envelope for both of us. But once he bounced into Jay Leno's 11:30 time slot we were surprised to find that we enjoyed his monologue.

We used to really enjoy Jay Leno's monologue too back in his early days of taking over for Johnny Carson. Jay Leno was funny without being vulgar. I wish that could be said about him today but it can't.

Last July Tim was unexpectedly hospitalized to have a procedure called a cardiac ablation. It was because his heart rate was way to fast for too long...if you think 146 beats per minute is too fast.

The day it all happened he was in for his check up with the ENT following up on his progress through surgery, radiation, feeding tubes and the like. The nurse routinely took his blood pressure and heart rate and that is when the problem began to come to light.

They told Tim what his heart rate was and then asked him if he felt alright. Tim's reply was, "Well, actually, no I don't." From there he went for an EKG, then to our family doctor for a repeat EKG and then our family doctor made a call to the cardiologist. They had to decide whether to bring Tim in right then or if he could wait till morning. The ultimate decision was to let him wait until morning but gave him instructions that if he had any chest pain whatsoever he was to get to the ER immediately. Okay, so it was a long night.

So, by the next afternoon Tim was in for a cardiac ablation and what started out as an out patient procedure turned into an overnight stay for him. After having this particular procedure done you have to lay flat on your back for a number of hours. Tim had a few complications so he had a few extra hours to wait . By then though his back was really hurting and he kept moving to get comfortable and asking when he could sit his bed up to relieve the pain. They finally gave him pain medication so he could tolerate the wait. They told him that when it was 11:30 pm he could sit up. 11:30 was a familiar time for Tim -- it was when Conan O'Brien comes on. That pleased him that his time to sit up coincided with him being able to watch Conan. That was the benchmark of having the freedom to sit up again and be more comfortable.

Before I continue on I have to say..... Most of you know Tim personally and you know what a mild mannered man he is. He isn't quick to get angry. He's always the diplomat and peacemaker. Not many things make him truly angry. Keep that in mind.....and the fact that he had pain medication that knocked him for a loop! :)

The medicine began to take effect and Tim dozed in and out of sleep and babbled things occasionally that made me laugh. He was entertaining while I talked to his father on the phone updating him about what was going on. Tim is not one to have a lot of medication so when he gets some it tends to pack a punch. It doesn't take much to make him loopy and that night in the hospital tipped the scales for him!

When the magic hour of 11:30 arrived Tim was quick to remember that it was "time for Conan" and that he could finally stop laying flat on his back. As he raised his bed up into a more tolerable position he asked that I turn the TV on so he could see Conan so I began flipping channels looking for NBC and Conan's familiar face.

So I am flipping channels looking for Conan. It didn't take long to realize that there were only 4 channels to be had on that TV and NBC was not one of them. I ran through the channels a few times hoping that maybe I just missed it but it didn't change the fact that NBC was not to be found. I told Tim that the TV didn't have NBC on it and that he wouldn't be able to watch Conan after all. Tim took the remote from me to prove me wrong. He went through the channels multiple times and kept telling me that NBC had to be there! When the remote failed to locate NBC Tim told me to check the TV (that is mounted high on the wall, near the ceiling) to see if there is a button to scan the TV to find NBC. I gave a half hearted look at the TV, squinting to see if there truly was any kind of button there to do what he asked but there was not.

By this point Tim is beginning to get agitated....really agitated. He kept saying in a demanding tone,

"I want to see Conan!"

I told him I knew he did but the hospital didn't get NBC so he couldn't. His reply, as he continuously flipped channels was,

"I am getting mad!"

"I am getting angry!"

"I am getting really angry!"

His final declaration of his anger was,

"I am so angry I'm going to swear!!"

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

To my surprise Tim then said that he was going to call the nurse! He wanted someone to come in and find NBC! I cringed at the suggestion but that didn't deter him at all. He rang for the nurse and with slurring and mumbles that sounded as though he had had too much to drink, he told the nurse that he couldn't find NBC and could she come in and find it for him. She politely told him to keep flipping the channels because she was sure it was there. He continued to complain that NBC was not on the TV and the nurse finally gave the reply that probably all nurses give at one time or another..... "Okay, I'll send someone in." Will it surprise you that a nurse never came??? BWHAHAHAHA! No, it didn't me either! :)

Well, Tim showed remarkable restraint in the fact that he never did swear as he said he was. Maybe it was enough for him just to threaten such an act of open rebellion! Part of me was curious to hear just what he would have said in his anger about not being able to watch Conan!

I am afraid that Conan leaving his current time slot after tonight could stir the same emotion that was tweaked that night in the hospital when NBC couldn't be found. Tim warned me with that hospital episode that apparently he has swear words and he's not afraid to use them!

Or maybe he IS afraid since he never actually used them! :) I'll let you know if that part of story changes when Conan is no longer on come Monday.