Lately I am having a difficult time in finding entertainment. I used to be able to sit down and watch an evening of television and laugh, or cry, or whatever reaction, depending on if I was watching a comedy or a drama. Lately, very little really gets any kind of reaction.
Perhaps one reason for that is all of the commercials. Every time I get interested in a show, there comes a commercial break. Once upon a time those breaks seemed short, with some commercials being entertaining. It might just be me, but lately most commercials are annoying and seem to go on forever.
I was in seventh grade when my parents first got a television set for the old farmhouse. That seems like eons ago, but I can still remember how entranced I was by the black-and-white picture with snowy dots. There were no 24-hour channels, and, as I recall, we could only get in two or three channels at the time.
Plus, we didn’t have what is now known as a clicker. If I wanted to change the channel or check whatever else might be on, I had to get up from my chair and walk to the television set to turn the knob. Often that meant that I had to tune in the channel I turned it to.
However, the screen was filled with entertaining shows, Ed Sullivan, Lucille Ball, Phil Silvers, and all the western and detective shows anyone would want to watch. I know there were commercials, but I have doubts that they were as long and boring.
I am not sure why it is, but in thinking back to my childhood, I tend to believe it was a better time, a more innocent time. But I think that stands to reason, due to the fact that I had no responsibilities other than school and barn chores.
Evenings didn’t seem long in those days. After barn chores, I might watch a show on TV and then go upstairs to bed. School work always waited until right before it was due; then I would pull an all-nighter and get it done. I recall my freshman year in high school, when I had two 1,000-word themes due on the same day, one for biology and one for social studies. That was two all-night assignments for me.
As I got older, I gradually learned how to get prepared for things and not procrastinate. But, it amazes me that in this new and modern age, communication has gotten faster and more varied, however, for me, it seems to have less meaning.
Even shows that used to interest me now leaves me wanting something more. That is why I enjoy reading books or sewing and exercising. I admit that the exercising is easy to postpone, but it is for my benefit.
As a senior citizen, if I want to keep my independence, I must be able to care for myself and my home. If television bores me, I can read, play cards, sew on a quilt, listen to music or just enjoy the beauty of God’s world by taking a walk.
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