The Telly

My dad hates television, he always has.  I think he even owns a t shirt that says, "Kill Your TV".  We got our first TV in our house when I was around 7 or 8 years old, and we kept it in a closet for years.  We could bring it out for Saturday morning cartoons, and for the Sunday night family movie specials . . . I remember watching The Sound of Music and other classics on a regular basis.  My dad wanted us kids to be critical thinkers and not just absorb all the trash that is on TV.  So guess what I remember doing with my siblings?  Watching The Dukes of Hazzard and listing out all the positive and negative things that the show valued as we watched the show.  Dad tried.  We really have to give him credit that he made the effort.  The problem is . . . that is, if he wanted us to hate TV, his plan kind of backfired.  Because guess what?  I love TV.  Now, I know that I should not say such a thing.  It is much more spiritual to say, "I never watch TV", but I am just keepin' it real here.  I love a good story.  I will read it in book form, audio form, magazine form, and yes, even television form.  My DVR list is long, and I love that I never have to worry about missing a favorite show while I am out, say, having a life.

To take you back a bit, when 9/11 happened, we had been living in Pennsylvania for about 2 months, and were on a "TV Vacation".  We had gotten rid of our television when we moved, and were not planning on getting another one anytime soon for no other reason than we wanted to see if we could live without it awhile.  I found out about the first plane hitting the tower because my mom called, and told me to get to a TV rightthatsecond.  I went rushing over to a neighbor's house and watched in horror the second plane crash on their TV.  After that time, I promised we would never be without a television again.  Now, keep in mind that that was before computers became such an every day part of our life and offered cool stuff like, say, full episodes of House right at our fingertips.

Pretty much all this is just to tell you all that our family is getting rid of cable in our house.  And that includes my beloved DVR.  That doesn't seem that big of a deal to a lot of people, I have friends without TV and many without cable, and lots without DVR.  My kids don't seem to care one way or the other about TV.  They must have gotten that from their grandfather.  However, for me . . . this will be hmm, shall I say, a challenge?   Don't misunderstand, I am completely on board with this.  I think it will be great for me.  I want to make this change for many reasons.  For example, I am just imagining what I can get done, like folding laundry, without the distraction of my DVR'd shows luring me in every afternoon.  I may be able to get studying done for my counseling exam.  I may be able to blog more consistently.  Oh, this will be good.  So good.  Right.  Right?  Right??