I’m a huge American Idol fan, and I take my Idol watching seriously.  It’s my version of watching sports on TV.  I attribute my Idol love to my childhood years of watching contests and singing shows with my grandmother, Bashy.  She and I watched a lot of Star Search together.  We watched Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.  And we always watched Miss America.  Now I watch American Idol with my sons, who are great company, but many times as I watch I think of Bashy and I can almost hear her making snarky comments about...