Jonah H. Harris

After several unresponsive requests to make MacGyver episode 5.11 (The Madonna) available online, I’ve spent the last hour writing CBS a more in-depth letter containing my background and reasoning.  TMI?  Yes, but the contents of the letter I sent are as follows:

To Whom It May Concern:

Unfortunately, it seems as though my vast network of contacts does not extend into CBS.  As such, I’m hoping that this message finds someone willing to forward it to the appropriate party for follow-up; I would greatly appreciate a response.

On December 18th, 1989, CBS aired what I believe to be the best MacGyver episode ever written.  That episode, The Madonna (5.11), is not currently available online and I’d like to request that it be made so.

When I was a child, I grew up watching MacGyver–making sure not to miss a single episode.  And, while there were many outstanding episodes, The Madonna means as much to me today as when I first saw it those twenty one years ago.

You see, in 1989 my mother and father were divorced, and my sister and I were forced to move across the country.  At that time, I was eight years old, and it was the first time in my life that I was unable to be with my father and our family for Christmas.

Accordingly, when I first watched The Madonna, I felt much of the same sadness and aloneness that was shared by several characters in the show. However, as with most MacGyver episodes, good overcame and albeit for the fact that I was far away from my father, I was left with a more positive attitude and optimistic outlook toward Christmas and to the future.  While Christmas came and went, I never saw my father again–he died due to an industrial accident four months later.

When Christmas came around the following year, I was still quite upset, but I remembered how The Madonna made me feel and I realized how much more I now had in common with it, so I watched it again.  In fact, I’ve watched it every year since then, and it always leaves me with an optimistic outlook.  It is for this reason that I respectfully request that you consider putting the aforementioned episode online so that others may enjoy it as much as I have.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jonah H. Harris

A clip from the episode is on YouTube.

I have had my first true epiphany and am shaken.

Without going into detail, a situation unfolded itself in front of me earlier today.  Though, it is not the event itself which has consumed my thoughts, but instead, my reaction.

In my life, I have experienced and worked through several major hardships, but this single, simple event has made me call into question my own nature, ethics, and character.  At this very moment, I find myself unable to make sense of how or why I failed to live up to what I believed would be an almost instinctive reaction.  Is it that I had set a false expectation for myself?  Is it that I let the actions of others influence my behavior?  Or, is it more than that altogether?

Prior to this event, I felt confident of how I would react in various difficult situations.  But, it wasn’t until the situation occurred that I realized how one’s perceptions and expectations of oneself can be so very far away from reality.

In the past, I’d watch TV shows like What Would You Do?, and jump at the chance to criticize those who didn’t act, claiming almost boastfully that I would have taken action in those situations.  Now, I realize that thinking I will act doesn’t necessarily guarantee I will do so, and that when a similar situation occurs in the future, I need to summon the courage and resolve I once had in younger years and act accordingly.

While this has been an arduous experience which will weigh heavily on my mind for days to come, the forced introspection will no doubt lead to a new degree of personal enlightenment.