I feel so bad for you that you have to miss it and can't play! It's just a rewarding and awesome hobby if you have a good group and a good GM. And unlike television, your favourite characters don't get horrifyingly shafted and you can control the story. There's something powerful about that. The downside is that the people who can share those stories with you is a lot smaller, but...eventually you really do end up with a group of people who share these collaborative stories and they become like...personal myths, with personal iconic characters and stuff?

And...um, insane crap as mentioned above.

If you're ever down in my general area, you should totally join us for a game!