December 13, 2015

Sometimes I Wish It Was Still 1965.

In 1965, we had a black and white tv and we had to get out of the chair and walk over to the tv to change the channel. We only had three channels and none of them came on until about 6:00 a.m. and went off at midnight. We all knew it was midnight when the last program ended and a short clip of an jet flying through clouds and blue skies was accompanied by a narration of the poem "High Flight" followed by the picture of a test pattern and a long, shrill beep, and then static until the next morning.






There was no remote control for the tv, and no vcr, dvd, tivo, or digital tuner. If you wanted to watch a show later, well, tough.

Now I bet you are wondering why I am taking you through this stroll down memory lane. It's because I've been rearranging the entertainment cabinet and moved the dvr I usually watch. It was a complicated set up and used too many video in and out thingys (Don't laugh, I bet you know what I mean) in the back of the tv and I may have unplugged the security camera dvd unit in order to record my shows. Plus, Hubby hated to have to use three remotes to watch tv. So, I moved it, and put an old, but simple, dvd player in its place.

After getting everything hooked back up and working yesterday afternoon, I decided to watch a new dvd and popped it into the player. I pulled the remote out of the pile in the drawer and pushed the play button. Nothing happened. So I pressed it harder. Like that made a difference. Then I changed the batteries, and it still wouldn't work. I thought it might have a loose connection, so I slapped it once, and then again for good measure. Still nothing.

By this time I was getting aggravated, and mentally berating the electronics industry for its shoddy workmanship, purposely making products that won't last past the warranty, and driving up costs as well.

Then I looked at the remote in my hand, and noticed that it was for a different dvd player. Oops.

So see, if it were still 1965, I wouldn't have spent thirty minutes trying to get the wrong remote to operate the dvd player, raising my blood pressure, and unjustly accusing the electronics industry. And since I never liked The Edge of Night or any other soap opera, I would have been doing something constructive with my time instead of watching tv.

Actually, if it were Friday afternoon in 1965, I probably would have been cooking dinner and cleaning house. Sooo, on second thought, I like 2015 much better.

14 comments:

  1. LOL I remember those days as well! I also remember my father buying our first colour television, my two brothers and I sat in amazement as we watched all the bright colours on "The Price is Right" game show.

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    1. I remember the same feeling the first time I saw Walt Disney (Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color). Our next door neighbors had a color tv and sometimes they asked us over to watch on Sunday evening to watch Walt Disney.

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  2. It was a BIG deal to get a colored TV, but on the farm, we received one station & it was mostly "snowy" with no clear photo so it was considered an extravagance. Anyone else remember the "rabbit ears" antennas? How about the chunks do aluminum foil that sometimes were added to the rabbit ears? Ahh, those were the days.

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    1. When I was young, we had a big antenna on the roof because we were so far from the broadcasting city. When the wind blew hard (which it did a lot), it turned the antenna and then we had the snowy picture. Then dad had to climb onto the roof and turn the antenna back toward the city. Dad bought our first color tv when I was 18 and got hooked up to cable at the same time. No more climbing on the roof!

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  3. Oh I can so relate. I remember when there wasn't a remote. I was the remote most of the time. I can even remember turning on the television five minutes before you wanted to watch something so it would warm up. Yep, I'm with you though. I'm happy with 2015.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Oh yes, I had forgotten about having to let the tv warm up. Our black and white tv was in a metal case with metal legs (very 1950's) and we lived in an area with low humidity, especially dry in winter. Mom and dad usually asked us kids to change the channel, mainly because we were sitting cross-legged in front of it, and it always shocked us. Sometimes my brother intentionally scooted his feet across the carpet to get a big shock. I think I'll go kiss my remote now.

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  4. Boy, I FEEL your pain.... I still have one of the LARGE TV's that will need a crane to move it!! lol
    It's sad to go out and see preschooler's doing things on a phone, you have no idea what they are doing????lol
    Then some people don't understand that if you are retired, you don't need all the bells and whistles now......
    Merry Christmas...When did it happen that I became my parents and want the good old days????LOL

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    1. Like you I absolutely hate the jumble of wires and endless remotes that seem to clutter up the end of sofa. To be honest, I'm not that keen on watching TV either - my husband is the enthusiast!! Jx

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    2. I know. Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out.

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    3. Jan, I'm the tv addict at our house. Dh will turn it on, but it's mostly a sedative for him.

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  5. too funny. thanks for the laugh, but sadly, we've all been there at one time or another. :)

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    1. Well, like misery loves company, so does this. ;)

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  6. Wow, I remember the High Flight sign off and the time when most everyone had only one TV. Now Drama Teen wants Net Flix. I'm still trying to figure out how that whole thing works.

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    1. Oh right, no one had more than one tv when I was growing up, and we all watched tv together. We have several tvs here but still use antennas instead of cable or dish. But we finally gave in and signed up for Amazon Prime, and I hate to admit it, but it's nice watching a show when we want to and without commercials. There are several series that are only on Netflix so next year, I may do that one.

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