Remember Television?

When I was four, my grandparents bought us a television. We were the first in our neighborhood to have one. It was a big brown (mahogany?) cabinet with both a TV and radio. That box was so fascinating to me. Most of the time, it seemed it had only a screen with an Indian head in the middle. I'm not sure what my first program was ~ it may have been Howdy Doody. The set was a little girl's delight. My mom and my 3 sisters would sit down to watch together. Because my sisters were all in school, I got to watch in the daytime. The people and others in there were my friends. I thought they lived in there. At nap time, my mother would turn off the television and close the doors. I would rest, waiting to rush back to my friends. I thought that when the set was turned off they were all in there waiting for it to be turned back on. I was quickly disappointed when they weren't there to greet me. I held on to the delusion for a while.

The place where we lived was huge to me. In our front yard were two huge palm trees. They were equidistant to the center of the house. Our entrance was a set of french doors. As we went inside, the dining room was to the right, living room to the left. Behind the dining room was the kitchen. Our bedrooms were behind the living room. A central hall led us to the bedrooms and the other kitchen door. I slept in the room with my mother, my sisters Sylvia and Sharon shared a room and Charlotte slept in a sort of sun porch way at the rear of the house. I loved Charlotte as if she were a second mother to me. I even placed my pet snails on her pillow one early morning to show my love for her. When she stopped screaming, mama had a little talk talk with me about snails in the house.

Our back yard was a veritable treasure for a little tomboy. We had fruit trees to climb, a really fun set of clotheslines for me to ruin from time to time and lots of dirt and grass to keep me wretchedly dirty. My mom kept me in overalls instead of dresses. We had a brown dog whose name I can't remember. He was my protector. He protected so much that one day he pulled me from an apricot tree in the neighbor's yard and I was hurt. I cried because mom gave the dog to the dog catcher.

Just after that, my mom found that a skunk was living under the house. I had never seen one and didn't know why she and my sisters were making such a fuss. I thought it was the cutest kitty I had ever seen . . . it was in what I now know was a trap. I thought the kitty was thirsty, so I poured some water in his cage. He sprayed me all over! Mom burned the clothes and I spent some time in a bath of tomato juice. I actually loved all the attention. I just didn't quite know what all the noise was about.

There is a lot of water that has passed under the bridge since then. I no longer believe people live inside the television. I still love the classical music that my mom played all the time. I love dogs . . . we have 4 little ones now. My sisters grew up and married by the time I was eight years old. I lived the life as a spoiled "only" child. I'm still spoiled. I haven't played with any skunks lately, although I still think they are beautiful. It's been a long time since I played in the mud or climbed a tree. I wish I could climb a tree now . . . there's always a spectacular view from the top.

As always, I think about you all and pray for you. Please say a special prayer tonight for Donna of D's Designs as she recovers from a heart attack and bypass surgery. Many blessings,