No TV for a Week!

About a week ago our TV died. It was actually a slow death and we knew it was coming. Still, it is hard to prepare for something like that. We had spent so much time together and then one day ----------. We didn't even get to say goodbye. I feel terrible, the last thing I said to it was, "I am tired and bored of watching you." That was our last interaction.


Its demise first began with a small section at the top. For some reason, that portion was inverted. Basketball was funny to watch. With each shot, the ball would look like it was bobbing up and down. The first time I saw it I was mesmorized and couldn't figure out what I was watching. It was so funny looking that even Mary would watch games with me.


Needless to say, the small section slowly creeped down until about a fourth of the screen was partially upside down. Now everything was awkward to watch, especially sports. You could never tell who was winning because the scores were all backwards.


One time we thought we lost her prematurely, but Mary's determination found a way to bring her back to life. Mary rolled up her sleaves and went to work. She pushed buttons, unplugged and plugged cords back in with such tenacity. The whole time she was muttering, "I won't let you die, I need you too much to let you go now, I can't raise these kids by myself."


Unfortunately, this last time we were unable to revive it. Not for a lack of effort though. Mary can attest to that. We actually waited a couple of days before we could bring ourselves to remove its pictureless body. It did have sound and the kids even listened to cartoons for those couple of days - just to say goodbye. It was like we were going back to the radio days.


To be honest, part of me was a little glad to see it go. I told Mary, "This will make us smarter. We will read more and talk to each other more." She clearly disagreed and I soon got smarter and quit saying stuff like that.


A week went by with no TV. Then, Mary's friend loaned us an old TV they weren't using. They did warn us that it wasn't in the best shape. We only get a few channels that come in clearly - Food Network, C-Span, FOX News, Weather Channel, and BBC. We are now very informed people.



To end, we are grateful for the new TV. It has actually lead to some unexpected changes - we cook interesting things, know more about Australian parliament proceedings, discuss weather patterns, and laugh at goofy British shows. We are probably smarter with the new TV. Mary is still not buying it.

Mike's Art Show

The other day, Michael brought home an announcement that his painting "Symmetrical Guy" would be displayed in the school district's art exhibit. Mary and I were excited to go, even though we assumed his selection was random at best. When we got there, we were so surprised to see that his 'guy' was pretty symmetrical and that it looked like a guy. We couldn't believe this came from the kid who used to pitch a fit when asked to color or draw. Looking back, we can definitely see his development. Here are a few pictures to show his growing artistic ability. The last one, shows his brother's ability, which unfortunately tends to show up on anything other than paper.