"Mmmmm, smells like coffee."

said Doug as he drove away from the McDonald's drive-thru window.

Characters on TV and in books are so clever in everything they say. Yes, it makes them entertaining, but they lose some authenticity they might otherwise have. Perhaps we like being drawn into the fantastic world where everyone is smart, pointed and witty in their jabbering. I can appreciate that, but most of us can only be counted on for a good quip every three or four weeks. If I was writing the story of my life (an autobiography of sorts), I'd be sure to include the best lines of dialog. But your standard everyday conversation is not so articulate, not so coherent, not always clear, not sequential, not pretty and not entertaining. Some might say not worth writing and not worth reading. I disagree. When you connect with any form of art, and it hits you right in the gut, it has aligned itself with your experience. When the painting looks like it was done for you, when the singer seems to be singing just to you - about you - for you, when the book seems like your story. That's magic, baby.

Entertainment for escape is one thing. If the story is the Fantasmagorical Confrabulations of Professor Von Fribmitzgibbons, then fancy talk seems just fine. But when we're dealing with supposedly real people in conceivably realistic situations, it should be kept a little more earthy. I'm not saying that "Mmmmm, smells like coffee" should have a place in all fine, and even coarse, literature and entertainment. But consider the non-sequitur on occasion, for non-sequitur's sake (is that somehow inherently redundant, somehow?). Throw in some dialog that goes nowhere of importance, it may take you great places. It might titillate the occasional reader who expects and accepts more of the same for lack of readily available options.

That being said, CSI Miami is perfect the way it is.

(Horatio Caine squats down beside a homicide victim outside a Starbucks)

"What is it Horatio?"

"Mmmmm, smells like coffee."

YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!