Shameless

This is kind of a strange post. This morning on FB, one of the writing pages I follow posted this:

I'm not really going to respond directly to the prompt, but it did bring to my mind a character on a show I've been watching lately. Have you ever seen the show Shameless?  It's a Showtime original series that started back in 2011. My husband and I only recently discovered it on Netflix. On billing, it stars William H. Macy, who just like in most of his parts, is brilliant in this. But the real stars are the actors who play the family and supporting cast of Frank Gallagher, Macy's character. It's a complex group. Frank is a drunk whose wife left him years prior, with six children. Fiona, who is 21 and the oldest, has pretty much taken on the mom role for the rest of her siblings who range from toddler to junior in high school when the series begins. Other than to say how wonderful it is to watch these kids pull together at any cost to support each other in their chaotic and dysfunctional life, I won't get into all the specifics. I recommend you check the show out. Just keep in mind, the show originated on Showtime and there is some very "adult content."

Back to the prompt posted this morning. I've found while watching the show, I'm quite intrigued by the second oldest child of the Gallagher family. Lip, short for Phillip, is a brilliant, not particularly attractive (not ugly either) junior in high school, played by Jeremy Allen White. He's much younger than I am, but even if he wasn't, I don't think I'd be attracted to him. I do however, think I'd enjoy hanging out with him. I think what I love most about him is he's incredibly smart and he's got chutzpah. He's tough enough, likely due to his shit parenting (or lack thereof), but he has a soft side too. And he really doesn't give a shit about impressing anyone, or meeting some societal expectation. He's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder, likely caused from abandonment by his mom and the deadbeat drunkeness of his dad.

He's obviously a South Side Chicago street kid, but in one episode we learn he takes the SATs for cash to help support the family, but he tells a college big wig, "no thanks" when he offers him a chance to work with him for AP credit. He smokes cigarettes and pot, drinks beer, and sleeps around, and in one episode he refers to himself as a slut.  One thing is for sure though, Lip knows he's smart and so do his brothers and sisters. He steals to help feed his family and he gives up his few pocket bucks to send his little brother on a field trip. And watch the show to see what happens when his brother tells him a secret, or when his mother shows up for one episode. Watch what happens when Frank starts acting like a real dad in order to earn some money in a research study, but Lip knows it won't last. Watch when his little brother needs a parent to show up at school, or when Frank owes someone money and their toddler brother is taken as collateral. See how Lip tells Fiona she's done enough, and it's ok to run off with her boyfriend, or what happens when he thinks he's falling in love with his "friend" with benefits.  You just can't help but love this guy, dysfunction and all.

We just started season 2 and I'm thrilled there are 6 and it's still running. It's picked up some Emmys too. The Gallaghers are a crazy, downright Shameless bunch, but they are endearing because of how hard they work as a family to keep themselves together. I can't wait to see what they're up to next.