Television

First …

I’ll go ahead and admit it. I enjoy television. I’m certainly not addicted to it by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy watching various programs that I find on TV these days. I’ll also be the first to agree with those who say that, as a society, Americans probably spend too much time watching television and not nearly enough time getting out of their living rooms and being active. After all, I don’t think it’s too much of a coincidence that America’s rapid rise to obesity has come at a time when more and more of the population has become less and less active. It is much easier to sit in a recliner and munch on a bag of potato chips than it is to get up and get moving, even if it is just for a short walk around the block or a half-hour playing catch with the kids or grandkids. That said, I do believe that television today is entertaining and, if watched in moderation, provides a pretty harmless and inexpensive way for a family to spend an hour or two together.

There are programs for just about every taste, and my taste runs across the broad spectrum of the programs that my satellite package provides. First, I enjoy sports, so the college football bowl season has been a lot of fun. Sure, there are way too many bowl games, and several of them have been real yawners, but for the most part this has been a very exciting bowl season for those who like offensive fireworks in college football. I also like Westerns; the classical ones mostly, but some of the newer versions have their own charms and while I don’t necessarily believe that the re-make of “True Grit” will ever surpass the John Wayne version, not being equal to the Duke’s edition did not make the newer one necessarily bad. Speaking of John Wayne, Christmas Day was a great time for his legions of fans in that there was a marathon of some of his greatest Western action films. Christmas Day is always special in its own right, but being able to wake up on Christmas morning with my family, attend church and celebrate the birth of Christ, and then come home for Christmas dinner and watching several different John Wayne movies that afternoon was great! Merry Christmas to me!

I also enjoy the outdoor channel. There’s just something enjoyable about watching fishing shows. I realize that this doesn’t apply to everyone, and that there are some folks who view fishing programs as nothing more than a couple guys on a boat who talk too much and do nothing for thirty minutes but cast and reel. Then they talk some more. But I do enjoy it, simply because there is usually the promise of at least one pretty good sized fish being caught before the program is over. And usually, I am left with a good feeling that some ol’ boy caught a big ol’ fish, and dreaming that on my next trip to the lake, the creek, or the stock tank, that ol’ boy could actually be me. I enjoy hunting shows too, but mainly to watch the preparation that goes into the taking of a big buck, or a turkey, or a moose or an elk. I am not a big hunter; I enjoy hunting ducks and dove and an occasional squirrel. But I do enjoy watching the programming since it gives me an appreciation of how dedicated some of these guys are in pursuit of their quarry. To me, it is exciting television.

There are other things I enjoy as well. The Food Network has some cool shows; mostly, I like the ones that go to little joints across the United States and talk to the owners about what makes their little dive so special. I make lists of those places on the off-chance I ever get to visit there. If I do, I’ll be sure and swing by these little holes-in-the-wall just to see if what looked so good on television is actually as good in person. I can recommend several places that I have seen on Food Network that I’ve actually tried, and they didn’t disappoint. Royers Round Top Café in Round Top, Texas is one of these; try the chocolate chip pie or the buttermilk pie – pricey, but good! Lulu’s in San Antonio is another – try the chicken fried steak and the cinnamon rolls that are as big as hubcaps. No joke, they weigh 3 lbs. THREE FULL POUNDS! They’ll last a week! I’m thinking that a few of these places that I’ve visited have contributed heavily to the fact that I’m now on a drastic weight reduction plan!

Many folks today blast television as not being what it once was, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. And, I am grateful that it’s not what it used to be, to be perfectly honest with you. Sure, programming is different these days, just like everything else is different from the way things were in days gone by. But I sure do enjoy watching what little TV I have time for. One big reason is the fact that I have a choice of over 400 channels to choose from. I remember when I was a little boy, we had five consistent television channels – 4, 5, 8, 11 and 13 out of Dallas, and a sixth - if the wind was blowing just right, you could pick up Channel 7 out of Tyler. I remember Channel 4 from Dallas being pretty consistently clear, but there was never anything really good to watch on Channel 4. Channel 5 from Dallas, the NBC affiliate, was spotty – sometimes the reception would be good, sometimes not. Channel 8, the ABC affiliate out of Dallas, was by far the best. It had good picture and sound most of the time and had a majority of the shows that a kid enjoyed watching. Channel 11, the Dallas independent station, was OK for morning cartoons and Slam Bang Theater, but that was about all it did for me outside of Batman and Gilligan’s Island later in the afternoons. I hated Channel 13, the PBS station, as I thought Sesame Street was extremely stupid and didn’t gain an appreciation for it until after I had kids of my own. Sadly, Channel 13 was the only functional channel on nights that the president wanted to address the nation – and I grew up thinking that Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan all conspired to need to talk to the American people only on the nights when Marcus Welby, M.D., Happy Days, Little House on the Prairie, or The Waltons were on. KLTV, Channel 7 out of Tyler? Well, that was an experience. On the rare occasions that the Dallas Cowboys did not sell out Texas Stadium, the blackout rules would be in effect, so outside my mom or I would go to “twist the antenna” while dad stayed in the living room and told us when to stop. We never seemed to quite be able to stop twisting in just the right spot, so, as a last resort, out came the rabbit ears and about 10’ of crumpled aluminum foil and a twisted coat hanger. And with a little luck, and if the Cowboys were wearing their blue jerseys instead of their white ones, you might just be able to make out the silhouette of Roger Staubach as he took a shotgun snap and rolled out to his right ….. just before the snowy fuzz took over the picture for about 20 seconds. When it cleared up, we would generally find out from some excited announcer that the Cowboys had just scored on some miraculously long pass play. At this point, we’d traipse back outside to give the old antenna-twist another shot.

So, for what it’s worth, I am glad that television has changed. There’s so much more to be able to watch, and while I agree that not all of that is good, there is at least something for everyone. You can watch specialty shows, you can watch music videos, you can watch boxing or golf or even sailing. You can watch movies – like Westerns, which I enjoy, or you can take a ride down the dial to the Lifetime Movie Channel (my wife’s favorite) where it seems like federal law requires that the movie “The Notebook” be shown at least once every 12 hours. You can watch cartoons 24 hours a day, you can watch comedy, or you can even watch shows from the Golden Age of television; shows like The Andy Griffith Show, Dragnet, and I Love Lucy. I’ve even enjoyed watching old Walton’s re-runs the past couple of weeks. To me, the good old days are right now – no rabbit ears, no aluminum foil, plenty of channels, and no antennas to twist on a cold December Sunday afternoon.  May everyone be mindful of that next time you grab the remote control (yes, children, we actually used to have to get up and WALK to the television to change the channel) and surf through a couple hundred channels and exclaim to the tops of your lungs, “There’s just nothing worth watching on TV these days …”

… and 10

1.      There’s really no need to question my manhood simply because I enjoy the hand soaps, lotions, and candles from Bath and Body Works. Yes, I like those products, yes, I like shopping there, and yes, I am secure in my masculinity. So there.

2.      I also enjoy Jelly Bellies. A lot!

3.      There are not many things that will bring a smile to your face quicker than a puppy that just wants to love on you.

4.      Saw a rare sight last weekend for this part of the world; a pair of bald eagles soaring over the house as they made their way southwest. I had seen one a couple weeks before, then the pair last weekend. Wow, what majestic birds, and huge!

5.      Somehow, someway, I just wish that somebody could wrest control of the Dallas Cowboys away from Jerry Jones.

6.      Tough last week of December in Kemp with the passing of Mr. Creecy and Mrs. Halbert on top of the passing of Mrs. Duke a few weeks before. Just real good folks, all.

7.      I sure am grateful for these moderate January days and nights – they’ve been a real blessing.

8.      Almost tater plantin’ time. Onions, too.

9.      Speaking of gardens and vegetables, had a big mess of fresh turnip greens the other night. Boy, were they good. (And yes, I said mess, not serving. The amount I enjoyed far surpassed a serving!)

10.  Geaux, Tigers!