“I don’t always watch TV. But when I do, I prefer drama-free programming.”

(Say that in the voice of the Most Interesting Man in the World for proper dramatic effect.)

Those who know me best know that my preference for TV shows skews toward the uncomplicated end of the spectrum. Family Feud is right up there, as is The Golden Girls and most anything on Food Network or Cooking Channel. PBS’s offerings are pretty solid, The Weather Channel is great for white noise (not to mention their awesome instrumental music during their Local on the 8s forecasts) and I do love the occasional documentary on VH1C (I highly recommend catching “Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage“). Recently, I’ve branched way out and also become a fan of Alaska State Troopers, Gold Rush and catching Jewel’s clan in Alaska: The Last Frontier. The most drama I can take is saved for Friday nights when new episodes of Say Yes to the Dress debut. Will she buy the dress? Won’t she? Will her mother hate it? What about the mother-in-law? What about her best man and his impeccable taste — will he approve?!

Whew, almost getting excited just talking about them.

All are fine choices for a big night in. Tonight I had a lovely reminder come my way, courtesy of The Golden Girls.

Assuming nobody else is a fan like I am, here’s the recap: Blanche’s father, a.k.a. Big Daddy Hollingsworth, decided he needed to live out a few dreams, namely becoming a country singer in his old age. He’d had these aspirations all his life, but when he met Blanche’s mother — who, in the episode, had recently passed — he said he knew when he was younger that being with her was a time to be responsible, and not a time for chasing rainbows. After her passing, he realized all he had was a big, empty house and her tombstone, and he was set on going out and having his adventures.

While aspirations of becoming a famous singer late in one’s life might seem laughable, who’s to say they don’t hold immense value for the person who dares to live out their dreams, regardless of their age?

Blanche is convinced he’ll go nowhere with his dreams, and at first she wonders why he’s bothering with such a silly quest when people are making fun of him. He can’t sing, and he can barely play his guitar. When he explains that this is his time to do what he’s always wanted to do, despite what other people think, she understands.

The episode ends with both of them singing some lyrics together.

“It ain’t gonna worry me for long, it ain’t gonna worry me for long. I’ll get up in the morning, and I’ll still be singing my song.”

A few years ago I tried out for Don’t Forget the Lyrics! at Barney’s Beanery up in West Hollywood. Let’s forget for a moment that I was actually supposed to go with a guy I had a massive, Texas-sized crush on (but who, as fate would have it for the second time in my life, was actually gay…d’oh!). We were going to make a night out of it, and I was convinced that at the end of it all, I’d find him to be a great kisser.

To this day, I still have absolutely no gay-dar.

Despite this, I got a ton out of the experience. I knew I wouldn’t make it onto the show, that my throat would tighten up and that I’d choke on my karaoke song, but that’s beside the point. Wanting to do something, and actually doing it — regardless of the outcome — was huge for me. It was a school night and I didn’t make a beeline for my house so that I could watch an hour or two of TV before going to bed on time. Instead, I was set on making a fool out of myself so that I could say I actually tried — instead of always wishing that I had.

There was a rainbow out there (no pun intended), and it was time to do some chasing in West Hollywood.

Puns and hilarity aside, tonight I am thankful for the rainbows that appear, not unlike the real ones, after spells of inclement weather — right at the time we seem to need a little dose of inspiration.

What’s your rainbow? And, better yet, isn’t it time to get after it?