My comedic insomnia with 30 Rock.

My cure for insomnia isn’t a calcium-magnesium-zinc pill, or melatonin, or a warm glass of milk at 2AM. It is late night comedy. I have tried science shows about Galapagos iguanas, and the ancient mysteries of lost civilizations, and fallen in love with reruns of 30 Rock. It achieved what Seinfeld, The Office, and other sitcoms never could.

Stress may be at the root of my insomnia. Typically, I manage stress very well; after all I have worked in advertising for over twenty years. You get used to it. I almost never get sick, so my white cell count must be pretty high. I am almost a Vulcan in hiding my emotions. Sometimes, after a glass of wine with friends, I surprise people by my Kenneth Parcell-act-alike behavior. What I need to do is channel my inner Kenneth Parcell (Jack Mcbrayer – 30 Rock) all the time.

If I can keep a cheerful, almost naïve way of seeing the world I will get through whatever I am going through. Or maybe I just need a girlfriend. Nothing wears out a man like a girlfriend, and probably vice versa. Perhaps that is the draw to watching 30 Rock. It is, despite its many tangents, a story about people trying to find themselves and find romance. Who is the central character? Is it Liz Lemon, or all the characters combined? Or could it be that I am like Dennis Duffy, and that is why I identify with the Liz Lemons in my own romantic past. No, probably not. Probably the serious message that appeals to me is that beneath the comedy there is the bedrock that we must find ourselves, and in doing so we will find our soul mates.

Kenneth Parcell is my feel good pill before I crash out. Feel good companies have a gold mine in Jack Mcbrayer. Disney used him for Fix-It Felix in the 2012 Disney animated film Wreck-It Ralph http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Jack_McBrayer But the world is a complicated place. We are not cartoons. We have insecurities like Liz Lemon, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ3rPKJBteY we are egotistical loveable nut-jobs like Tracy Jordan, http://www.nbc.com/30-rock/video/memorable-moments-with-tracy-jordan/1334584/ we enjoy power like Jack Donaghy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l0kGIIW66g - and we have all dated someone like Dennis Duffy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GSeVbj_mXg

But what if the world was made up of people like Kenneth Parcell? Would it be too scary – people helping one another with a cheerful, almost too helpful perspective? What is the charm of Kenneth? He seems to be sincere to the point of mania. As Jack Donaghy said of Kenneth, after narrowly beating Kenneth at a game of poker, "In a few years we'll either all be working for him, or be dead by his hand." I lived in Georgia for a few months in 2011. I saw a few Kenneth look-a-likes while I was there. Are all people from Stone Mountain like Kenneth? Or do they do what many men do in America on Friday nights - eat TV dinners and drink beers? Not all of them do Civil War reenactment battles. I saw a Civil War reenactment once, and the Confederate guy did not like my Yankee accent. No, not all the guys in Georgia are like Kenneth Parcell. With the exception of Atlanta, referred to as "The city of suits," by a lady lawyer I met in Decatur, where there seems to be an abundance of New Yorkers, Georgia men are like the men in any other state = straight and macho.

The cynics assume gayness when a man is too nice and too well groomed. Is it Southern culture that fosters this combination of hospitality to the point of being odd? What is wrong with being nice? Am I about to have my Midnight Cowboy moment? I hope not.

When a person’s sexuality is ambiguous it bothers people. Like, two days ago I was grocery shopping and saw a man in a dress. He was not a particularly pretty man. He would have probably called his Japanese schoolgirl dress a kilt. So I am a bigot for even mentioning him. But bigotry is comedic. I once accidentally dated a transgender guy. He fooled me, but $100,000 of surgery could make a lot of guys look like a woman. In this new world you are not supposed to raise an eyebrow when you meet a man in drag or a woman who looks like she just came from a logging camp. It is uncool to be honest. Fifty years ago people would have gotten seriously beaten up for their sexual ambiguity. I behave like Kenneth; I am polite to everyone, no matter how strange their lifestyle. You have to in this world because it is a world full of weirdness.

To further confuse and amuse viewers about Kenneth's sexual leanings, NBC/Tina Fey had Jenna and a homely girl named Hazel try to make Kenneth their boyfriend. They also had him hook up with an Asian gal, but none of Kenneth's hookups went beyond kissing. So Tina Fey was just messing with our heads. Kenneth’s true leanings are unknown, even to Kenneth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uaiv0xzRLaY He could go either way – gay or straight. From Kenneth's POV, everything always works out for the best, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xi5lPn2afA Even when overtly gay guys make a play for him, Kenneth maintains his innocence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP3srtDFYFc From Kenneth’s POV, staff members appear as if they are Muppets. Maybe that is the secret to his boundless joy. I am going to have to watch a lot of Sesame Street to get my brain around being nice like Kenneth Parcell, but gosh, it sure seems swell to try.