Ever have an obsession that slowly creeps into your everyday life?  I tend to form obsessions every few years.  It’s usually pop culture related.  For instance, when I was 12, I was obsessed with New Kids on the Block.   I had their posters plastered on my walls.  I positioned Joey McIntyre’s poster on my wall so that his face was looking at me when I woke up every morning.  Huge buttons of their likeness covered my clothing.   I had New Kids T-shirts, pillows, towels, books.  You name it, I probably owned it.   Thankfully, my musical tastes improved and I upgraded, if you will, to Springsteen, U2 and basically anything other than a boy band.
        Currently, I am obsessed with the television show “Lost”.  Now, it’s not so bad that I have posters, pillows and mementos of Lost all over my apartment.  However, I do make it a point to be home every Wednesday night at 9pm and as I’m watching the show in one room, I am taping it in another. (You know, in case I blink or sneeze, I want to make sure that I can go back and watch it if needed.). I enjoy everything about the show. I love how the music builds up before a commercial.  So dramatic.  I even love how the word LOST appears blurry in the opening credits and then for a split second, it’s clear.  I am completely intrigued with the characters and their back stories.  Each week, I look forward to learning about Jack, Sawyer, Sun, Locke, Hurley and the Others.  I want to know why they were placed on the island.  Why did they survive?  Are they all connected in some way other than surviving a plane crash? Have they crossed paths before without ever knowing it?  I want to know what the numbers mean, why is there a monster on the island? Is it really a monster or is the “monster” that’s chasing them really their inner demons?  These characters are not only physically lost but also emotionally and spiritually lost.  There are so many layers to this show that once you think you’ve uncovered a clue, another layer is there to squash it.   
                             The show has infiltrated my life.  I am so obsessed with this show that now when I travel on airplanes, I think about which of the passengers I’ll be friends with if the plane crashes on an island.   Would I be friends with the man in the suit who’s immersed in his Blackberry?  What about the girl seated in 3D listening to her Ipod? What kind of music does she like?  If it’s Celine Dion, then I don’t think I can hang out with her.  Would I try to be friends with the guy reading Sports Illustrated?  Probably, unless he’s a Yankees fan.  If I was stuck on an island, would I be a leader or a follower? Would I still have faith and hope in being rescued?  Seriously, this is what I think about. 
                Just a couple of weeks ago I was traveling from Boston to Washington D.C. and guess who was on my flight?  Ted Kennedy.  Now, the first thing I think about when I see the Senator is that I am totally going to hang out with him if we crash on an island.    Then I think, the plane won’t crash with a Kennedy on the plane.  Then I think of all the Kennedy tragedies and hell, the plane could very well crash.  See, these are the thoughts that run around in my head.  Silly, right?  Of course, I know the possibilities of surviving a crash are pretty slim and there aren’t too many islands between here and D.C?  The Vineyard, Nantucket perhaps?  It’s just the fact that this show, Lost, makes me think of these scenarios now.  “Lost” has rustled the cobwebs in my imagination.  I love this show.  I know my obsession will probably run its course and I’ll move on to something else. But for now, I will be firmly planted in front of my TV on Wednesdays, enjoying the mysteries of Lost.