Sometimes we have to stop a second and think about how much things have changed in our lives.
What got me on this philosophical bent? Seeing something in a home I was touring with some buyer clients.
Televisions are a serious part of our lives. According to the folks at Nielsen, even in this age of the Internet, the amount of television we watch has gone up over the last year. We now, on average, watch 153 hours of television per month. That's over five hours per day. I found that so hard to believe. Until I really thought about it. I'm not a morning or daytime TV person. But I do watch the local and national news while making dinner (one hour). I like to watch Jeopardy followed by a chaser of whatever is on HGTV. Then, I do have to admit, television is a big part of our evening routine -- from 8 to 10 p.m.
So I'm at about four hours per day. Less than the American average, but still a whole lot of television! And I do have to say it's not "eyes glued to the set" watching. I may be surfing the Internet as I watch. Or fielding some late client calls. Or, as the evening progresses, snoozing in front of the tube.
But let's get back to the real estate tour! Now that large flat panel televisions have taken over both the marketplace and our family rooms, we are seeing interesting ways people house those LCD and plasma wonders. For those folks that don't hang them on the wall, there are a lot of different ways to get them at proper viewing level. So when I saw this novel way of mixing old and new in a both whimsical and practical way, it got me thinking about my childhood.
Yes, I am one of those people old enough to remember the bottom television. And to prove it I dug up this family photo from 1963 showing me and my sister Wendy with the centerpiece of our family's entertainment. I remember loving how the dials would light up when the television was turned on. The anticipation of waiting for the tubes to warm up before the picture came into hazy view. How easy it was to remember where to find a show -- we only had four channels! And the fascination of watching the magical pictures disappear into a bright white dot at the center of the screen that slowly faded away when the set was turned off.
Times sure have changed. I'm now taller than my sister Wendy. While I may have been in awe of her back then because she could reach the top of the TV set and I couldn't, I'm still in awe of her now for all her accomplishments (Google Wendy Strahm to see what a fascinating life she leads). I no longer sport the spiffy look of a diaper that appears to be larger than Snooki's Bump-it hair-do. In fact, overalls are not an item hanging in my closet right now.
But you'll still find me in front of the television, happily smiling as I reach to turn it on.
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