That first hour of the day is hard on most people. Many of us tend to groggily (that's a word, right?) stagger out of the bathroom and head for the kitchen, hoping for some magical substance (usually caffeine) to make our brains kick into gear and make some sense of the world around us.

Like you, I peruse the morning paper (a big thanks to you for that) and spoon my cereal or oatmeal to the target between my chin and nose, with above average success. It's no wonder I hear the wife exclaim "eat over the table!" on a consistent basis.

Once I have satisfied my ink-and-paper fix, I often head for the couch, punch the remote and surf like a dark-skinned blond dude at Redondo.

•••

I'll hit the news channels, to see if I've missed anything overnight. I might rotate past the networks, just in case there's something of interest I want to hear about - but no, nothing special.

What usually catches my ear and my eye simultaneously is a music video. Luckily for us of the MTV generation, VH1 still shows actual videos in its morning program "Jumpstart."

•••

Back in the '80s, I spent many a morning (and often other hours of the day or evening) tuned in to the music scene through Music Television's constant video programming.

I was there at the start, back in 1981, my freshman year of college, when they would run Robert Plant's "Big Log," the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" and "Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders a few times a day.

Somewhere along the line, life intervened, and my MTV watching slowly ground to a halt.

Fast forward about 20 years, and lo and behold, here I am back on a couch in the morning nodding my head to tunes from people who probably weren't born when MTV went on the air.

Still, I do enjoy the music for the most part. There are a ton of good songwriters out there these days, and it's refreshing to see how far the technology in video making has come in 30-some years. Maybe it's the "how-did-they-do-that" conundrum that provides the brain sniffing salts I need to face the day.

Katy Perry, Adele and Jason Mraz fight for air time with The Fray, Bruno Mars and Sara Bareilles. VH1 does a good job to running morning-friendly, melodic fare, as to not provide a shock to your still-waking-up system.

•••

As I sit on the couch, my mind slowly coming into form, I give thought to what my morning routine will be another 20 years from now.

I'll be in my late 60s early 70s by then, if by God's grace I am still upright and consuming air. And if VH1 - or whatever network replaces it - still broadcasts a video format, I'll probably be watching, trying to get all the cobwebs to melt away between my ears...

...even though most of the performers haven't been born yet.

Jerry Hitchcock is a copy editor for The Press after he gets his brain in gear. He can be reached at 664-8176 Ext. 2017, or via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com.