Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Leakage

This morning I awoke to the return of two journalists who had been held in captivity in Korea for the past 4 months. While initially the coverage was like watching paint dry as the stewards carried luggage up and down the jetway stairs, when the two women emerged and embraced their families my eyes began to leak. And I felt like I wouldn't be able to stop it. Every time I dashed away an overspilling tear, more rushed in.

Are you familiar with this syndrome? Where something touches you - something so not of your own life, family, or situation - and you cannot stop the emotions flooding through you? I've always been a sucker for this. I think this first came to light during the movement of emotional commercials on TV. Remember the Kodak memories commercials? Or how about the Coke and a smile series where they sang, 'I'd like to teach the world to sing..." One of the worst was that damn Folger's commercial with the guy comes home from college and makes coffee surprising his family at Christmas. And did all of that really start with the old Indian crying over pollution? Any one of these can still start my own personal water works show.

I am THE person they make tearjerker movies for. No matter how bad the movie, if there is a dramatic turn that is meant to pull the heartstrings, they will find mine and the eyes will tear and not stop until I allow a full-blown cry.

Most people who know me in person wouldn't guess this.

Neurotic?
Yes.

A little manic?
Sometimes.

Cynical?
Probably.

Sappy?
No (I don't think...)

But I am.

I can curl up with a horrible romance novel or an Oprah book club pick (although mostly I bypass those because they are truly depressing, not just emotional), and be transported. Recently I picked up an audio book series by an author I like and realized in the first chapter it was about vampires. Not my usual fare at all. But there was romance, drama, time travel, and I was hooked. Soon I was tearing up as the sidekick was bitten by the vampire and had to suffer a horrible fate worse than death (blah blah blah blah blah...) I know - sounds awful doesn't it? I mean who gets dragged into these things?

Me...obviously.

So now you know the dirty little secret of this hard-nosed marketing professional workaholic English major. I seek trash in books, movies, tv, and even commercials - and I leak...a lot.

4 comments:

AmyBow said...

I'm with you, I cry over random things. Silly things. Definitely the Kodak commercials. I want to be clear though, I don't "leak", I cry. From ym eyes. Leakage sounds like what happens when you eat chips with Olean...

Anonymous said...

Yeah, but do you cry when some sports team wins some championship (even though you're not a big fan)? I do. Do you cry when someone, out of the goodness of their heart, fixes something for you that hasn't worked for a really long time (even though you kind of got used to it not working)? I do.

*slinks away embarrassed as hell*

Kimberly said...

My eyes get misty with the ASPCA commercials.

Mama Lou said...

YOu forgot to mention the Hallmark commercials which get me all the time.