E16 Error Message

The other night I turned on the TV only to find an E16 error message floating around the screen, “You are not enabled to view this channel or your account has been suspended. Please contact the Call Centre for assistance.” My DSTV was disconnected again, despite the fact that the account was up to date. I even went online to check that the subscription was deducted from my banking account. So, with the indignation of the righteous, I pressed the speed-dial for their Call Centre - this is not the first time this happened – ready to bitch about their latest botch up.

After negotiating the voice activated call answering system I was put through to a call centre operator only to be told that their systems were down and that they would only be able to reconnect me the following day. I had a miserable day and all I wanted was to watch some mindless TV for a while before I went to bed. I was so annoyed.

I wasn’t in the mood to read or continue with my redecorating project, which by the way is a task bigger than anticipated, so this left me to do some house chores while listening to the latest music I downloaded.

The song by Sarah McLachlan, I Will Remember You, from the movie, The Brothers McMullen, made me think of my brothers. We’re so very distinct from each other - in looks and personality - but we’re also so much alike; we wear our hearts on our sleeves, and we’re very headstrong (read: fucking stubborn), but we love each other as only brothers do. This does not mean that we are anything like the Brady Bunch now, more like a cross between A River Runs Through It and The Brother’s McMullen.

When we get together we usually have a boys night out and shoot some pool in a somewhat dingy bar close by. I always look forward to these nights. The mixture of male competiveness and the swelling undercurrent of desire is strangely intoxicating. It is a night where we can forget our responsibilities; laugh and tell dirty jokes; play a few games of pool; and drink beer, while dodging my brother’s stealth farts.

 

Sometimes a scene from The Brothers McMullen is replayed. My scene would go something like this; “Listen to the advice of your bigger, wiser and more experienced brother.” I would say, and proceed to impart my particular take on life, the universe, and EVERYTHING. Other times I would play the cocky brother from A River Runs Through It, or one of my brothers would play out their version of a scene, and soon enough, our pool game would be suspended for a lively, sometimes heated, debate. Nevertheless, however heated it becomes, the game is always resumed. By the end of the evening, we’re laugh and joking again; closer to each other than when we came in. 

 

The song also reminds me of those men that made an impact in my life - the lovers; the crushes; the brief encounters; the disappointing; and occasionally the heartbroken.

Some ended better than others, and some endured. Then there were those that were like the E16 error message you get when you’ve done everything you’re supposed to and still get disconnected.