Learning to Live With/Without
“WHAT?” I spun my chair around to look at my husband.
“It’s been turned off,” he said. “They came five days earlier than I asked.”
“So….what do we have?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
Are you wondering what we’ve lost? I’ll tell you: our television cable. That’s right. Go ahead and laugh. We are living in 2008 without television. Here’s the story: my husband and I–in search of the next better “deal”–changed cable providers. We called one, set up the installation date for this coming Saturday, then called the other and asked them to disconnect on Friday night.
Cable Company Number Two (who shall remain nameless) didn’t appear too happy. They attempted to keep our business. But issues with them had swayed us toward the other company anyway so there wasn’t a whole lot they could say. Well…until this morning. And now I guess they’ve had the last laugh. We’ll show you!!! No TV for you for FOUR DAYS!
Okay. No need to panic. We can do this. We have DVDs. We have radios and stereos. We have books. We have neighbors with TVs and cable.
Of course our little one is completely beside herself, this child of this present age, this wonder who has grown up with things like DVD players, computers, Wii, etc. What does she know about having a black and white set in the livingroom…a black and white set that gets only three channels…a black and white set that gets only three channels and–should the President have something to say–one show?
What does she know about hearing the national anthem at midnight (flag waving proudly) followed by television snow? What does she know about that funky screen that–at 6 in the morning–went 4-3-2-and then to the local news? Or, where I grew up, the farm report?
When was the last time you heard these words: This is a test. This is only a test.
Do you remember going from Black and White to Color? Think back. What was the name brand of your childhood TV set? Sylvania? Zenith? RCA? Motorola? Philco? How about Westinghouse? Did you have a console? Portable that sat on a TV stand? How about the kind that had the TV set in the middle flanked by a phonograph on one side and a radio on the other?
Did you even have a television set? Do you have one now? (I know folks who swear by not having them or…in some cases…having ONE but no cable, just local for the sake of getting the news in case of national disaster. Seriously.)
So…here’s the beginning of four days without television. Saturday we begin anew. We shall return from 1908 to 2008. We shall join the land of the living. Or, at the very least, the land of the living couch potatos.
Until then…here’s to computers and stereos…and books.
Posted: July 1st, 2008 under American Values, Family, Fun.
Comments: 14
Comments
Comment from Eva
Time: July 1, 2008, 5:32 am
Suze,
You are NOT the only one! Dennis and I have one TV in our living room and that’s it. There is a TV SET in Jordynn’s room but it has the VHS player on it and that is ALL it is for. No cable coming into her bedroom (read my book Sex, Lies, and the Media to know why not) and no chance of it ever coming in there either.
We used to have a TV in our room but I realized one day that hubby was always in the family room watching TV and I was always in the bedroom watching TV and “n’er the two shall meet.” This was an unhealthy way to run a marriage, so I got rid of the one in the bedroom.
My way of thinking is this: the bedroom was for luvin’ not watching TV. 
Comment from Tracy
Time: July 1, 2008, 6:09 am
We recently reworked our budget, and our satellite dish was the first thing to go. We can’t get cable out here, so we use an antennae and get 5 channels. I miss the Food Network, and hubby misses the Western channels, but we’re surviving.
As a small child I remember when we got color TV. It was HUGE. The delivery men carried out the old black and white, and brought in the color box. That day started my mother’s constant admonition - “Don’t sit too close, it will hurt your eyes.”
One of my very first TV memories was the moon landing. I stood between my daddy’s legs as we all watched history in the making.
Comment from Connie Pombo
Time: July 1, 2008, 6:28 am
Too funny!
This boomer babe NEVER owned a color TV until she was married (circa 1975). I grew up with ONE TV, Zenith, rabbit ears, four legs and knobs that fell off. What a creature!
I just remember it took FIVE MINUTES to warm up and the picture gradually faded in, and made a buzzing sound when it was turned off. Can you imagine waiting FIVE minutes for something to turn on now?
Great post, Eva (your words always come to life!).
HUGS!
Comment from suzanne eller
Time: July 1, 2008, 6:52 am
I remember being the remote control. “Suzie, change the channel to 8″. “Suzie, change it back to six.”
Comment from Eva Marie
Time: July 1, 2008, 6:56 am
The remote control!!! I remember seeing My Three Sons and noting they had a REAL remote control. “Why can’t we have one?” I’d whine to my mother.
“Because,” she would say.
And that was that!
Tracy: Good for you…getting rid of cable. In the long run, you’ll be the better off for it!
Connie: Wait Five Minutes???? You should have seen me this past week when my computer was fried by lightening. I thought I was going to have to go back to writing letters. Stamps! WAITING DAYS!!!
Shudder!
Comment from Keri Wyatt Kent
Time: July 1, 2008, 9:27 am
We’ve never had cable. Mostly because my hubby is thrifty–he loves watching sports but won’t pay for ESPN. If there’s a big game on he’ll walk over to the neighbors or even go to a a sports bar.
We have an antenna and live close enough to chicago to get the 3 networks, plus WGN, public television and a handful of UHF channels. My kids like to read, and play outside, or play board games. Even as I write this, I can hear my son rummaging thru his legos, exercising his creativity. We only got a used Xbox (a friend gave it to us) this year, and the kids play it about once a week.
Yesterday I took my kids to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and we had a great time together.
Here’s my summary:
Cable Bill $0
museum membership $70
Scrabble deluxe edition $28
Having teenage kids who aren’t TV zombies… priceless
Comment from Dotsie
Time: July 1, 2008, 5:20 pm
Something similar happened with us regarding service, but it had to do with our phone. We were without a home phone for a month. At first, it drove me crazy, but by the end of the month I was lvoing it. Hardly an interruption.
Eva, I’m one of those gals who rarely watches TV and loves it when the electricity goes off. However, I know two of my children would be freaking out if we had no TV for four days.
Have fun speniding quality time with one another. I’ll be interested in hearing how you feel after day four.
Comment from Susan R.
Time: July 2, 2008, 7:40 am
Hahaha! Oh my goodness! I remember living in Japan as a child in the 60’s and the only show in English was a Japanese variety show which came on Saturday night around my bedtime! Any American show such as The Lone Ranger or Bonanza was in Japanese. No wonder I learned to love to read! Also it was black and white but there was some plastic plastic film thing they could put over the screen to get some color. When we got back to the states we ended up with one of those humongous floor models, but it was in color!
Comment from Eva Marie
Time: July 2, 2008, 8:58 am
I had forgotten about the plastic film! Thank you for that memory!
Comment from suzanne eller
Time: July 2, 2008, 9:26 am
Never heard of the plastic screen thing. : )
Comment from Flea
Time: July 2, 2008, 1:42 pm
Eva Marie, you make me laugh so hard! We canceled cable last summer before the kids went to school. It was by unanimous vote, actually. Everyone’s adjusted well. The kids discovered that they can watch The Office on the internet and things have been fine.
We’re also a one TV family. Made that decision as newlyweds, having experienced our parents having TVs in their bedrooms. I love the peace in the bedroom because of it. If there’s going to be noise in there, I want to know why it’s occurring and be part of its source.
Comment from Allison
Time: July 3, 2008, 7:50 am
Once again, Eva, you’ve hit the nail on the head with your keen sense of observation and ability to tell a story that jolts alive old memories and makes us laugh! I’m still looking at every yard sale I pass for your aluminum Christmas tree! We had a B&W Zenith TV and it was years before I realized that when Dorothy landed in Oz it became a Technicolor world. Amazing. Thanks, Eva, for another fond journey down memory lane. Hope you and the family can survive the next several days. Bless you!
Comment from Jan @ Bold & Free
Time: July 3, 2008, 10:22 am
When we moved into this house, we added 7 cable hook ups. I joked with the installer that at least we don’t have one in the dining room or the bathrooms.
These days, I usually only watch TV for the weather. I’m too busy enjoying the beautiful sunshine. But, if I need to watch the weather while I’m in my office, I can do that.
When my kids were little, all we had was a small black and white. We wanted to encourage activities besides TV. My FIL begged us to let him buy us another. However, it wasn’t about the money.
back to Home
Comment from suzanne eller
Time: July 1, 2008, 4:49 am
Zenith. TV in the center. On the top, phonograph on one end. Radio with lots of knobs on the other. Black and white when I was young, young. Color was a big deal when we got it. My dad is color blind, so he didn’t see what the big deal was. Never had two TV’s–ever. To this day, Richard and I are the rarity. having only one TV in the house. : ) But I watch it way too much.