i love Huell Howser, and you should too.

i love Huell Howser. i mean LOVE.

for those of you that arent in California, you probably have ZERO idea what i am talking about, which is a pity. i suggest looking him up on YouTube immediately.imagine the most infectiously interested person ever, and then multiply it by 12.

my first experience with Huell was when i was a super jaded late teen. i walked in on my grandparents watching him, and thought "who is this yokel?" 5 minutes later i was sitting on the couch, hooked. after that he became something my grandmother and i enjoyed together, and i treasure him for that too... she is gone but every time i watch Huell i remember her laughing. once, she saw an episode about pop up books, and knew i would love it. so she got on the phone, and ordered the video of it for me. if you knew my grandmother, you would know the only thing she hated more than talking on the phone was entrusting any sort of financial information to a faceless human, and talking about technology she didnt understand (VCRS!). for this reason, i still have that video, even though i dont have a vcr. now my mother and i have Huell Howser parties when Adi is on business trips and watch hours of recorded episodes on my dvr.

anyone that knows me knows i am pretty grumpy. i would like to see the magic in everything, but generally i am too busy focusing on the fact that i am broke, or someone pissed me off, or i like eating brownies more than doing sit-ups. its something i work on and struggle with daily, and it always has been.But when i watch any episode of Huell Howser, i suddenly start to see how awesome EVERYTHING is.

he makes you realize that no matter how trivial and mundane something is, it can be seen as a learning experience, a miracle, a story. he loves people, and hearing their stories. he seriously seems like the nicest guy on the entire planet. the best part about him is he asks questions. constantly. sometimes we have the ridiculous ones ("you mean, they make the burgers, right here, on this grill?") but we also have the ones that you would think some Pollyanna fluff show would not ask (i.e. wtf is with the bible quotes on In-N-Out Burger cups?). he can be very droll, which i adore.

i made this bumper sticker for my car, and you would not believe the number of people that literally swarm me for it. i should have ordered more and sold them out of the trunk. i have had frat boys, high class ladies, and drunk hobos applaud and start talking to me about Huell in parking lots and on the street.

the station that shows him announced Friday that they are going independent (they were a PBS station), and want to show more "current events" shows. i cant imagine this bodes well for someone that does an entire half hour show about just one of the swimming pools at Hearst Castle.i am not exaggerating when i say that there were a few tears.

i dream someday of meeting Huell Howser and telling him thank you for all the happy memories, and all the things he has taught me about this state. most of all i want to thank him for changing my outlook just a little bit every time i see a show.