TV Drama

Anyone who knows me even a little, knows I am not a fan of the all-mighty television. I have not had cable since 1997. Unlike many people I know, I do not have TVs in every room of the house. When I moved back to GA in March I didn't even bring a TV with me. The TV does not occupy a prominent space in my home (as a matter of fact, it sits in a corner, facing the wall, thinking about what it has done wrong). I have now set the stage.

Given my feelings towards electronic entertainment, you can maybe begin to understand the confusion I felt when my sister presented her birthday present to me: a 19" high def. flat screen TV. On top of the TV box were several books and a few CDs.

My first question was "Is this really a TV, or did you just use the box to put my other gifts on?"

Was it a joke? I tried very hard to appear gracious, but I couldn't hide my confusion. I didn't want to seem ungrateful, but really, a TV? I tried to hold onto the "It's the thought that counts" adage, but I couldn't help thinking "Did she really think I need a TV?" I mean, I had a TV (the one Dad gave to Joy, and then Joy gave to me. It is huge and clunky, but works so why get a new one?).

I didn't want her spending money on me, let alone buying a flat screen TV. I seriously considered asking her to take it back. When she told me later that it was free with her Dish cable plan, I relented and decided to take the TV home with me. In all fairness, Joy had reservations about giving it to me. In her words, giving me a TV is like giving a book to an illiterate.

There was never any question about whether I would now have two TVs. As soon as I got home (and made sure the new TV worked!) I logged on to Freecycle and offered my old TV. As expected, I got dozens of responses. Freecycle is a fun little network, but to be completely honest a lot of the stuff posted there is junk. So when a working, 19" TV with remote is posted, lots of folks are interested.

What disappointed me most was the number of people who emailed and just said something like "I'd like to take your TV." I mean, get original, tell me a little about why you want it. How am I supposed to decide who to gift it to if you don't tell me why you want it? Those emails were immediately out of the running.

Several people wanted the TV for their children. I grant you, these people don't know me, so they probably don't know my aversion to TV in general and as a babysitter in particular. With the exception of two years in high school, we only ever had one TV in the house. So, sorry, I am not going to gift my TV to some 9 year old. Let them read or play. One person actually said that she wanted the TV so her sons could watch it with headphones while her and her husband watched their shows in the same room, so she could "keep a close eye on them." Really? How about you have a family game night instead.

Another person said that they have several visitors that are used to falling asleep listening to TV and wanted to put it in their guest room. Ugh. In the end, I gifted it to a preacher to use in the nursery at his church. All in all it was pretty depressing and served to reinforce my overall dislike of television.

To end on a positive (and, yes, somewhat hypocritical) note, Dad got me the first two seasons of NCIS on DVD! The reason I am OK with watching DVDs, whether movies to TV shows, is that I am in control: I can watch whenever is convenient for me and I don't have to reschedule my life around broadcast times. Plus, there are no commercials! But more importantly, watching a DVD prevents me from getting sucked into the "there is nothing worth watching but I will just keep channel surfing for the next 3 hours hoping something worthwhile comes on" vortex.