My basic cable TV package includes the Documentary Channel, and I've seen some lately that I highly recommend.

"I Always Do My Collars First is a documentary that delivers an artful and unexpectedly entertaining look at what is often ignored as a mundane chore. It’s a film about ironing. The story follows four Cajun women in French Louisiana as they go about their daily lives demonstrating how the simple ritual of ironing weaves its way throughout the fabric of family life and their sense of identity. Through first-person narration, the women share with us a rare look at the rich interior life lived by wives and mothers in a traditional culture."

I was attracted to the title because I always do my collars first, too. If nothing else, you will learn how to iron a shirt.

Another one is Johnny Berlin and its sequel Johnny Berlin Two (or something like that). This character named John is a train porter on a passenger train that goes between Seattle and San Francisco. His last name isn't Berlin, that's the name of the train car he's assigned to.

He's saving his money to go to Cambodia for awhile, no reason, just to see it. He's one of those free spirits who has reached middle age without a lot to show for his life except a lot of experiences and a unique view of the world that he can explain in detail.

I saw the sequel about a year ago, and the first one last week. In the sequel he's back from a vacation in Cambodia, and has plenty to say. One of my favorite scenes is where he finds a huge roll-off dumpster full of books. He gets up in there and picks out some he wants to read. It's fun to listen to him because if he was your brother or someone you cared about, you might be tempted to tell him he's a loser who talks too much, but since you don't know him, it's just entertainment.

I caught the tail end of The Last One: "Deep in the wilds of Southern Appalachia, lifelong moonshiner Popcorn Sutton runs one last batch of true moonshine whiskey. Through the exhausting work of clearing the site, building a rock and clay furnace, brewing corn mash and producing high-proof moonshine, Sutton reveals the craft of traditional distillation, the character of his Scots-Irish ancestors, and a lifetime of memories in the trade."



I'll have to keep an eye out for a replay of it; that channel repeats the same stuff over and over, but not necessarily close together.