It started bugging me after I had taken a class at UCLA Writer's Studio. I had asked a television screenwriter if the networks were working on something more than Reality TV. He hoped they never would. That's when I turned off my television

Well that's not exactly true I watch "House" and that's just because I can't get over the idea that Hugh Laurie plays a belligerent know it all doctor. But mostly, I only catch bits of the History channel from the other room. And then, tonight American Idol happened.

Earlier today I was surfing the web on adoptions and was disturbed to read that over 43 million children are without parents living here- on our planet. Forty-three million orphaned children is astounding. Many of the children are in Africa and have suffered great loss. There's a good share of them here in California, Kentucky and all over America.

After Papa John brought our dinner, my husband went to bed early and left the television on. It went un-noticed for a good half hour and then American Idol's deep bass sounds drew my attention. "Tonight is the night American Idol Gives Back."

Gives what back, I thought. What did they take? And then the whole ball of Hollywood wax drew me in like "Nike Wickwear." I was watching television. Six young people sang songs of inspiration. I sat through several commercials about cars and cell phones and then we the viewers were supposed to vote for the singer we liked the best. I thought all of them were pretty good

"Poverty and children, on the other hand is different. You see on this night only American Idol along with ATT/Ford/ and Coke was to donate 10 cents for every call that was made in the name of one of six contestants. One toll free call would put ten cents toward helping fight the most dreadful of all human conditions. American Idol even extended the calling time. How could I not call? I buy Fords, use AT & T, and I drank Tab in the 80's.

So I waited until the show was over and the voting began. I dialed the 866 number and got in right away. I dialed enough times to feed my daughter and me at Mac Donald's, not that I would go there-much. Yet the point is I donated 4 hours of my time and six dollars. That's not a lot but I was there.

I hadn't participated in something of this magnitude since SMITH BROTHERS COUGH DROPS, and I must have written that name on at least a thousand 3X5 cards in hopes that a rock-n-roll band would come to my small consolidated high school in 1972. The marketing department for Smith Brothers had a brilliant idea as well.

They promised to pay for a real rock-n-roll band to come play at our sock hop if we wrote Smith Brothers Cough Drops on more 3 X 5 cards than any other high school in the U.S. That never happened for North Newton High School.

The not winning a real rock-n-roll band sock hop was hard, everyone got bummed and nobody wanted to ever do it again. Yet I still remember the cough drop company and I don't even know if their doing business. But that is good marketing my friend. (Yourhub.com -Barry Densa this one is for you.) That name is etched in my brain along side "588-2300 Empire" and "How many licks does it take to get to the middle of a Tootsie Pop?"

I don't care who wins the singing competition for American Idol. They were all good enough and even if they don't win, they've got more than their share of television fame. I'm sure my contribution of time and effort did something. More than Smith Brothers gave. More than Reality TV did.

I know they could have just given the money, but I didn't mind watching a few commercials. I do anyway. I learned to like that British guy a little more and they let me hear some pretty cool kids sing. Maybe television is changing. I'm hoping television is going to start reflecting who we really are and maybe even what we're really concerned about. One thing I do know, I'll remember the night I sang my daughter to sleep while I pushed the redial button and voted to give some back for the orphans. My daughter thought it was a good idea.