I mean, look at the magazines at the checkout stands at the grocery store. Who are these people and what kind of nuts write these stories and take these kinds of photographs’ It has become more and more obvious to me as I travel that a large majority of the population in the world are what I’d call semi-voyeurs. They seem to be living their lives though the lives of people they don’t know and never will meet. We seem to be consumed with the likes of People, US, Stars, National Inquirer, ET and hundreds more that I don’t even know about. All of these seem to be focused on the lives and activities of famous or want to be famous people.

I don’t care about Paris Hilton. I’ve never met her, I never will meet her and what she does with her life is of absolutely no interest to me at all. I’d just like it if the media would stop splashing her name and picture around ever thirty minutes or so as if she is the most important person on the planet. I could care less about her relationship with Nicole somebody, why should I be interested in this’

The same goes from Lindsay Lohan, Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise, Jessica Simpson, Jude Law and Britney whatever. Their public relations people must be working extra overtime to get this much exposure. Give me a break.

I don’t know about you, but in the normal course of the day, I have enough going on in my life that I just want to come home, relax, read, talk to my wife and chill out. I don’t need the screaming boob tube telling me about things some actor or singer did today. I don’t care where they eat or shop. I don’t care what they wear. I am not going to buy something because some entertainer wore it first. So what’

I have no problem with them making money and spending it however they see fit to do so. That’s ok with me and I’d probably do the same if I were in their shoes. But to live my life through theirs is silly and a waste of my time. There are more things in my life than watching to see what some media darling is doing this week or who they broke up with or getting married to. I need to concentrate on learning more about what my kids are doing and how I can help them. I need to focus on helping my wife get through a tough time dealing with the recent death of her mother. I need to work on my own self, not get distracted with other peoples lives.

Especially the lives of people I will never know or meet. I suppose there are a lot of people who are just curious about how the other ‘half’lives. But, I ask you to consider this’how do you know that what you are reading or watching is even close to being the truth’I venture to say that you can take just about any celebrity in today’s world and if you examine close enough you will find as many good things about them as you do bad. And I suggest to you that the other way holds true as well. Face, it folks, these are real people, just like you and me. They have real problems, real relationship issues, real money issues and are subject to the same kinds of illnesses and age related diseases we all face at one time or another.

In spite of what you believe or want to believe, they will not stay young forever. I suppose my viewpoint is somewhat jaded by my age. It seems the older I get, the more precious time is to me. So, I tend to think of it as a commodity to be used wisely and not wasted.

I have nothing against these people, these media celebrities, these persons de’ jour; they have a right to be here just as I do.

I just think we should examine our lives and spend our time where it can be more useful to our immediate surroundings and not gazing through rose colored glasses at some persona living in a mansion in Beverley Hills.

But then, what do I know’