Seniors #5 journal---Modern Buffalo Bars

Since Thanksgiving, we have heard the latest updates and numerical counts of the transgressions of Tiger Woods, unarguably the best golfer in the world, and up until Thanksgiving, owner of a squeaky-clean image that helped him shill for ATT, Buick, Accenture, Nike, and many, many other major sponsors.

Though no one was ever to tame the Tiger on the course, he now hides wounded in his secret lairs, one such lair being his yacht, aptly named Privacy.

Hide he may, but eventually he'll be spotted, tracked, and shot by the paparazzi hounds with their lenses and videocams. We'll see him on the cover of mags and on TMZ covering his face with a jacket or rushing to his car surrounded by bodyguards to avoid the rabid picture hunters.

Already, Vanity Fair magazine has tried to cash in on Tiger's misfortunes, using photos shot four years ago by famed photog Annie Liebovitch. The magazine's cover shows a scowling bare-chested thug-like Tiger. Before the recent revelations of his misbehaviors, we might have thought this cover a bit out of character for Woods. Today, the irony roars loud and clear.

You might say that you don't give a par or even a birdie about Tiger's problems, but there a lots of other people who do. And there are enough versions of the Buffalo Bar found on TV, the Internet, and the newsstand that pander to their interests.

The tales of Tiger Woods and Johnny Bear beg these questions:

How many of us would be willing to plunk down two bits (25 cents, that is) on the bar to hear Johnny Bear tell us the latest gossip?

How many of us really don't care to get into someone else's bizness?

How many of us think that certain people, such as traditional societal role models such as religious leaders and politicians, should be left alone when it comes to digging up the dirt in their messy lives?

I bet if you're really being honest, then you're struggling with a definite answer. Don't feel bad if you're not quite sure how you stand. The boys at the Buffalo Bar felt shame in feeding Johnny Bear whiskey, but it didn't stop them, either.

For your journal assignment, select one of the prompts below that discuss our society's insatiable "need to know," to pry, to snoop, to secretly or openly videotape, the lives of others, especially enjoying the moments when other humans act in an unsavory manner.

1. Discuss one celebrity or celebrity pair about whom you feel "enough is enough" already. You don't care to hear another single word about him or them. Explain.

2. Discuss one celebrity or celebrity pair about whom you can't get enough juicy gossip and information. Explain why.

3. Discuss one incident in which the news media "went too far" to reveal one person's hidden actions.

4. Discuss one specific person whom you hold as a role model or whom you extremely admire about whom you don't want to hear any negative news. Explain why.

5. Do you watch a reality TV show? What have you enjoyed about the show (be specific)? What about the show has made you cringe?

6. YOU are better than the rest of us in that you don't ever follow the lifestyles of the rich and famous and you don't even want to write about them. Why do YOU think that other people do care about the lifestyles of the rich and famous?