As I've mentioned before, many of these THS MRS writings make me squirm and feel just the least bit of embarrassment. But what has been done has been done and, at the time, I thought they were wonderful. I may even have laughed at myself. And, bonus prize, it kept me sane.
The following is dated September 29, 1972. We were living on Hart Avenue, of course, and I was busy working my designer magic on the house. We repainted nearly everything, and rearranged what little we had, and I was terribly proud of its wonderfulness. In the midst of my magical rearranging, I had made Darrell move the console TV into that little alcove off the living room which had probably been a dining room at some point in time. It would have been (I think) a very small dining room but, because we dined in the "Map Room" which was part of the Sam Davis Remodel, we had now created a TV room. As I remember, it was where we discovered PBS, 'The Electric Company,' 'Sesame Street', and 'Masterpiece Theatre'. I fell in love immediately (kind of like I did with your father) and felt very cosmopolitan when I watched PBS. I didn't have cable or rabbit ears or whatever it took to receive PBS at the apartment and so, I was hooked immediately.
I'm getting ahead of my story but, as I remember it, when we moved to the farm, we had vowed to give up TV. To that end, we relegated the RCA console (or whatever it was) to the unfinished basement which had no real entry except for a cobbled together extremely heavy bulkhead door that was a threat to our very existence...especially on a windy day. I'm surprised even now that no one of us was killed by that door. God knows we could have been.
We lasted (sans TV) for, maybe, three months and then I cracked when the Watergate Hearings began in 1974. Your sweet father dragged that monster up from the basement and I could breathe once again. I think that might have been when I first began to knit. I find it spooky, but interesting that in 2017 (because of Donald Trump) I began to knit again. And, now that the Trump Impeachment Hearings have begun in earnest, I'm channeling Madame Defarge in "A Tale of Two Cities."
We must have installed the TV antenna in the farmhouse attic at that time, and immediately learned that a TV antenna will not capture Masterpiece Theatre no matter which way it is turned. Cable was unavailable and VHS had not yet become common. That was to take another four or five years. We never got cable at the farm and were limited to less than ten channels with our antenna...maybe less than five channels...maybe only three. I don't know, but I remember feeling very much out of touch every now and then. I do know that in the early to mid-eighties, Vernetta McAfee's son, who owned a TV shop, began taping PBS and Masterpiece Theatre for us. We had to buy a TV from him to receive this benefit, but I picked up tapes every few days at his shop, returned them, and did it all again. It was inconvenient, but wonderful!
I'm so sorry about that rather lengthy digression and a jump ahead to the farm, but here is the actual and appropriate THS MRS for the subject at hand...exactly as it appeared in the DC Daily Glob--as you all called it from time to time.
I'm getting ahead of my story but, as I remember it, when we moved to the farm, we had vowed to give up TV. To that end, we relegated the RCA console (or whatever it was) to the unfinished basement which had no real entry except for a cobbled together extremely heavy bulkhead door that was a threat to our very existence...especially on a windy day. I'm surprised even now that no one of us was killed by that door. God knows we could have been.
We lasted (sans TV) for, maybe, three months and then I cracked when the Watergate Hearings began in 1974. Your sweet father dragged that monster up from the basement and I could breathe once again. I think that might have been when I first began to knit. I find it spooky, but interesting that in 2017 (because of Donald Trump) I began to knit again. And, now that the Trump Impeachment Hearings have begun in earnest, I'm channeling Madame Defarge in "A Tale of Two Cities."
We must have installed the TV antenna in the farmhouse attic at that time, and immediately learned that a TV antenna will not capture Masterpiece Theatre no matter which way it is turned. Cable was unavailable and VHS had not yet become common. That was to take another four or five years. We never got cable at the farm and were limited to less than ten channels with our antenna...maybe less than five channels...maybe only three. I don't know, but I remember feeling very much out of touch every now and then. I do know that in the early to mid-eighties, Vernetta McAfee's son, who owned a TV shop, began taping PBS and Masterpiece Theatre for us. We had to buy a TV from him to receive this benefit, but I picked up tapes every few days at his shop, returned them, and did it all again. It was inconvenient, but wonderful!
I'm so sorry about that rather lengthy digression and a jump ahead to the farm, but here is the actual and appropriate THS MRS for the subject at hand...exactly as it appeared in the DC Daily Glob--as you all called it from time to time.
A few months ago our faithful ten-year old TV set gave out a large electrical pop accompanied by a flash of light, shuddered slightly and went black. No sound, no picture. This shattering event occurred early Saturday in the midst of cartoon prime time.
'Mommie! Mommie! The TV's broken--what'll we do?' shouted Denise.
Kristi, who takes matters in her own hands, walked calmly to the set and gave it a resounding kick.
Mickie was silent and in a state of complete shock.
'Daddy will be back pretty soon,' I said. 'He'll know how to fix it. In the meantime you can play some games.'
'Games!?!' (I'm afraid my kids are in the front ranks of the TV generation. They quote verbatim every commercial shown during the last five years, but can't remember that shoes go on the closet shelf.)
In a few minutes Darrell walked in. 'Daddy, the TV broke but Mommie said you could fix it.'
'Daddy, would you believe the TV broke. Will you fix it now?'
'Daddy, the TV exploded and it won't work. Fix it!'
'No problem,' Darrell reassured them. 'Just a couple of bad tubes. I'll take 'em out, test them and get her working in no time at all.'
The situation proved to be not two worn out tubes, but six--so a couple of hours and three stores later he had gathered the needed supplies.
'Now, this goes here, and that goes over there, and this one right over here...' he muttered.
'Are ya getting it fixed?' asked Denise.
'Yes, Daddy's getting it fixed.'
'Is it gonna work now, Daddy?' asked Kristi.
'Yes. It's gonna work now.'
'You sure that's right, Daddy?' Mickie asked.
'Yes. Daddy's sure that's right.'
A few minutes later, everything was in place. Darrell plugged in the set and announced: 'OK, turn it on.'
Denise hurried to switch on the set and everyone huddled around expectantly. Five minutes went by, ten minutes, then fifteen. 'I think something's still wrong,' said Denise.
'It's not working, Daddy,' said Kristi.
'I thought you fixed it, Daddy,' Mickie offered.
'Daddy DID fix it. It's an old set--just takes a little time to warm up.'
After waiting three hours and still no picture, a neighbor dropped by and offered a bit of advice. 'Got it plugged in, Staggs?' he asked.
'Yeah...I got it plugged in.'
'Ya got the tubes in the right place?'
'Yeah, I got the tubes in the right place. Now why don't you go home.'
'That wasn't very nice, Darrell,' I said.
'Never mind. Now, where's the chart for the tubes? I might not have them in right because I didn't look at it--but I sure wasn't gonna tell Yakshe that.'
After a quick glance at the chart, he rearranged the tubes, plugged in the set again and (Hooray!) a picture. The kids gathered around.
'Hey, Denise,' shouted Kristi. 'Turn off the light.'
As Denise flicked off the light, the TV went dead. She turned the light back on and the TV came back. On, off. On, off.
'Daddy, the TV only works when the light's on.'
'Daddy, the TV...'
'Daddy...'
'No problem, kids. I'll just flick this switch and...'
November 16, 2019
November 16, 2019
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