I really like watching television. I love finding a good show and then I am a faithful viewer. I use to be so bad that I would make plans based on what show was on. If one of my favorite shows was on, I wouldn't make dinner plans with a girlfriend or a boy I was interested in.
You also can't talk when I am watching one of my shows. I am like a guy who is a die hard sports fan. You can only talk during commercials. If you decide to talk when one of my shows is on, you really will be sorry.
So you are probably wondering what this has to do with my childhood.
Well, Ithink know the reason I like television so much is because of my parents. They had no idea that their good intentions would backfire.
When I was younger, my sisters and I were not allowed to watch television without our parents around. We did not have cable. We got the basic channels and they were so fuzzy. You had to squint really hard to see what was going on. If you messed around with the antennas long enough you might get some clarity but it was still really bad. Our TV was old, looked something like this but it was brown:
That children station (PBS) was always the clearest channel (and the only channel our parents allowed us to watch) but by the time I was 13 I really didn't want to watch Reading Rainbow or Sesame Street. I wanted to watch 90210 and Baywatch without having to play around with the antenna.
When my parents caught on that we (my sisters & I) were really determined to watch television regardless of how fuzzy it was; they got smart. They figured out that as soon as we heard the key turn in the door, we would turn off the TV and run to our rooms as fast as we could. They started touching the television to see if it was hot. If it was hot we were punished and not allowed to watch PBS.
We got smart too and knew that if our parents were due home at 9pm, we were to stop watching television at 8pm, to ensure that the television cooled off by the time my parents got home.
My parents plan for us to be people who would do productive things besides watch television has backfired because I am now making up for all the TV I couldn't watch as a child.
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P.S. The Situation was so horrible on DWTS. SO embarrassing. Jennifer Gray was amazing! Can't wait to see who gets the boot!
You also can't talk when I am watching one of my shows. I am like a guy who is a die hard sports fan. You can only talk during commercials. If you decide to talk when one of my shows is on, you really will be sorry.
So you are probably wondering what this has to do with my childhood.
Well, I
When I was younger, my sisters and I were not allowed to watch television without our parents around. We did not have cable. We got the basic channels and they were so fuzzy. You had to squint really hard to see what was going on. If you messed around with the antennas long enough you might get some clarity but it was still really bad. Our TV was old, looked something like this but it was brown:
That children station (PBS) was always the clearest channel (and the only channel our parents allowed us to watch) but by the time I was 13 I really didn't want to watch Reading Rainbow or Sesame Street. I wanted to watch 90210 and Baywatch without having to play around with the antenna.
When my parents caught on that we (my sisters & I) were really determined to watch television regardless of how fuzzy it was; they got smart. They figured out that as soon as we heard the key turn in the door, we would turn off the TV and run to our rooms as fast as we could. They started touching the television to see if it was hot. If it was hot we were punished and not allowed to watch PBS.
We got smart too and knew that if our parents were due home at 9pm, we were to stop watching television at 8pm, to ensure that the television cooled off by the time my parents got home.
My parents plan for us to be people who would do productive things besides watch television has backfired because I am now making up for all the TV I couldn't watch as a child.
_____________________________________________________________
P.S. The Situation was so horrible on DWTS. SO embarrassing. Jennifer Gray was amazing! Can't wait to see who gets the boot!
I'm a TV FREAK and I'm just like you! DO NOT TALK WHEN THE TUBE IS ON PLEASE!!! I <3 my hubby but he always wants to talk during the show...I usually kiss him to shut him up and he gets the hint, lol! Oh and the situation was a HOTT MESS, bless him!
ReplyDeleteKudos for your parents for figuring out if the TV was hot! My sister and I used to high-tail it to our bedrooms when we heard the key in the door too. Lol. Kids.
ReplyDeleteHubs and I don't have TV. I know, right?! We watch our shows on Hulu (hook the laptop up to the TV) but we don't even have basic cable. Its was hard to get used to at first, but I'm WAY more productive now. Going through a withdrawal now bc. we had it our our temp. housing. I'm SO DYING to know what the Kardashians are up to these days <-- NOT on Hulu. Grrrr....
I feel your pain. We didn't have cable for my preteen years and I swear I am still behind on key 80s and 90s trivia. Glad you figured out a way around it - kids are smart :) Jennifer Grey was amazing on DWTS! Love seeing her dance again!
ReplyDeleteMy mom let us watch tv but I was never allowed to watch Beavis and Butthead or any of that stuff which thank goodness, cause I obviously haven't been missing anything.
ReplyDeleteit happened to me too. my parents wanted me to go to bed by 9pm and wake up by 5am (school starts at 7am). but interesting tv shows were always after 9 :) we had our tv-watching-together schedule from 7pm-9pm after dinner (we had only one channel, a national one, for the longest time in indonesia) and a learning session befora that. ...and we had a similar tv set.
ReplyDeletewe weren't allowed to watch a lot of shows...looking back I understand but everything now that kids watch is SO vulgar and offensive it's funny what we weren't allowed to watch. I LOVE that someone was smart enough to create the DVR. I use to try to set up my tape player to record the tv shows...that was tough haha!
ReplyDeleteAhh.. poor SItuation! Yikes! My man Michael Bolton wasn't so hot, either! But i'm loving the couples - Jennifer made me cry, I love her & Derek as partners.
ReplyDeleteHow did Audrina do on DWTS? When gymnastics is on don't mess with me I am into it-my eyes don't leave the screen. I kinda get like that with my other shows too. I don't want to miss a word and hubby is not allowed to flip channels b/c he never turns it back in time.
ReplyDeleteOur lives are opposite! I watched SO much TV as a child. THen I went to a private high school, college and just never got back into watching tons of shows. I still definitely enjoying vegging out occasionally to unwind and relax, but I'm not much of a TV watcher ...
ReplyDelete