A TV Life

When I was young, my father refused to purchase a TV set for our home.

“I would end up watching it all of the time,” he explained.  “And I have work to do.”

So – no TV.  The biggest problem for me was that I had periodic school assignments that involved an essay about a specific TV show, and I couldn’t watch any of them.  My recollection is that at first my teachers were skeptical.  After all, every family owned a TV set.  When they called my father, they realized that I was right.

Other than for class assignments, I didn’t notice the lack.  I’ve always liked to read, and I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.

Fast forward twenty years.  My dad had purchased a color TV shortly after the TV networks began to air national programs.  Of course, I wasn’t living at his home anymore, so it was no big deal for me.  (And yes, I had my own color TV set at my own home.)

Fast forward to when my dad was 80 (and he lived to be 104).  Sure enough, almost every time I visited his house Dad was firmly planted in front of the TV.  During his last twenty-five years he moved to live near me, and one day I realized that Dad lived in his recliner chair in his living room in front of the TV.  He sat in the chair 24/7, watching TV.

I don’t even know what he was watching, because whenever I visited he turned it off.

Today I mostly only watch news and sports programming on TV.  I believe that I can learn more, and more quickly, by reading.  Although I thoroughly enjoy PBS programs such as NOVA.

What is the moral to this short tale?

If you avoid something because you are concerned about becoming addicted to it, you are probably right.

Alan