When I was 7, our family became friends with a family down the street, who owned a television…
It was set in a big, dark wood cabinet…. and the screen was tiny and round…
but about once a week all four adults and five children would gather in their living room…
adults on chairs behind the kids sitting on the floor… for a “TV night”.
My Dad hated being outdone.
We kids had been asking for a TV but he kept saying they weren’t good enough yet….
Of course, we had no concept of improvements to something already magical.
Finally, I guess, the screens got big enough for one-upmanship purposes….
and he came home with a big, blonde wood cabinet, with speakers behind doors on the sides, and a huge rectangular screen…. I believe it was 14".
TV nights moved to our house.
But the kids weren’t remote controls yet…. because for the first few years, we were Not. Allowed. To. Touch. It.
We had that TV for about 20 years…. it went overseas with us, and came back for my high school years, and moved out to California with my parents.
At some point Dad realised he didn’t have to get up if his minions changed the channel, adjusted the rabbit ears, etc.
I seem to recall that vertical hold was a small knob in front, but horizontal was a tiny plastic gizmo sticking out in back that was way too sensitive.
I hated to adjust that cos it often got worse instead of better.
When we finally got a roof antenna, I was the designated indoor watcher while Dad stood on a ladder and barked questions at me through the window.
When I was in college, and none of us kids still lived at home, Dad retired.
He finally decided color TV’s had gotten “good enough” and bought one of those…. I think it had a remote, to replace the minions.
When I was 7, our family became friends with a family down the street, who owned a television…
It was set in a big, dark wood cabinet…. and the screen was tiny and round…
but about once a week all four adults and five children would gather in their living room…
adults on chairs behind the kids sitting on the floor… for a “TV night”.
My Dad hated being outdone.
We kids had been asking for a TV but he kept saying they weren’t good enough yet….
Of course, we had no concept of improvements to something already magical.
Finally, I guess, the screens got big enough for one-upmanship purposes….
and he came home with a big, blonde wood cabinet, with speakers behind doors on the sides, and a huge rectangular screen…. I believe it was 14".
TV nights moved to our house.
But the kids weren’t remote controls yet…. because for the first few years, we were Not. Allowed. To. Touch. It.
We had that TV for about 20 years…. it went overseas with us, and came back for my high school years, and moved out to California with my parents.
At some point Dad realised he didn’t have to get up if his minions changed the channel, adjusted the rabbit ears, etc.
I seem to recall that vertical hold was a small knob in front, but horizontal was a tiny plastic gizmo sticking out in back that was way too sensitive.
I hated to adjust that cos it often got worse instead of better.
When we finally got a roof antenna, I was the designated indoor watcher while Dad stood on a ladder and barked questions at me through the window.
When I was in college, and none of us kids still lived at home, Dad retired.
He finally decided color TV’s had gotten “good enough” and bought one of those…. I think it had a remote, to replace the minions.