That Horrid Evil Box
I have to admit, this one has been a struggle for me. I like to watch TV. I like the mindlessness of an episode of canned reality. So when we decided, a few months back, to dump the dish and stick with whatever floated to us on the air waves...I was a bit distraught. (So was the satellite TV company, they weren't able to comprehend that I was dumping them and not replacing them)
The move was born out of an increasing awareness of how much TV influences our daily lives. We were beginning to realize that weeknights revolved around the network schedule. We found ourselves turning down dinner with friends for the latest episode of whatever. But, even more depressing was the numbing effect on our children. They played around the house singing commercials. They tried to talk us into toys with the selling points from advertisements, they were beside themselves when the TV was off.
It's been a little more than two months now. There have been times when we missed it, but this weekend we were reminded why we made the choice. We went to the local thrift store on Saturday to look for a rug (our house collects quite a bit of dirt and our current rug is well beyond capacity or cleaning). We didn't see anything so we asked the lady at the counter if she had seen anything come in.
"No," she said, "but there is a 27" TV back there if you'd like." I'm not sure how the two were connected. We politely declined and asked her to give us a call if something showed up. Today (Sunday) we had dinner with our extended family and immediately after dinner, the tube was on. I was amazed at how much advertising and cross marketing was going on. The most disturbing was a pharmaceutical ad set to the music and animated pictures of Happy Feet. What on earth does the flu have to do with a movie about dancing penguins (a premise that confuses me anyway, ahh...maybe it's so bizarre it makes you ill)? Needless to say, we will not be going back anytime soon.
Take a risk, dump the dish. Cut the cable. Just take back your life from that horrid evil box.
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7 comments:
It's amazing how much free time you have when you dont have to watch tv!!!
you don't know me but i just saw your link in your signature at TBW. this is fantastic. an inspiration i needed and i forwarded your blog link to my hubby in hopes we can try something similar! where do you live and work? we live in nor cal, too, but not far enough north to be as gorgeous and pleasantly rural-feeling as where you are. best of luck with your simple life!
We are smack dab in between Sacramento and Tahoe in small gold rush town near highway 49. I dont leave the area much, and Matt works in Lincoln. (about 45-60 minutes away)
If consumerism is a dragon, TV is it's teeth! Good for you for taking back your airspace! I hope you continue to enjoy it. I've been TV free for 22 years (my parents ditched it when I was 5) and haven't missed it.
Hey mama...
Good for you! We got rid of our TV when we moved to Montana, and it's wonderful. Our 2 closest friends don't have a TV either, so that's encouraging. We play music A LOT. I can relate to missing the mindless entertainment though. Just give me a little American Idol!? :) But we're so much better for it...Bella rarely even watches movies, maybe once a week we rent from the library or video store. I got sick of the TV telling me what to wear, what to think, what to eat, what to take when I got sick...oh my.
I can tell myself all those things...thanks. :) Anywhoo...good for you.
P.S. I LOVE your paint colors. Fabulous.
yay for your family!!! we are tv free, too. though we do watch movies and signing times on our laptop sometimes. i saw your blog from mdc.
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