My TV Addiction

I was born with a TV Guide in my hand. Television has always been my drug of choice. Early on, I perfected the art of getting stuff done during commercial breaks. The one and only time I remember attending a family meeting, I was about 7 years old. Seems like the subject of the meeting was “Chore Assignments During Summer Vacation”. After being told our chores had to be completed before watching TV, I swallowed hard, and probably raised my hand to be called on (it’s hard to overcome Catholic school protocol, even on vacation). I pointed out that, surely, “I Love Lucy” was exempt from this plan. I negotiated a deal to complete my chores during commercials. In my mind, I had my priorities straight. The first Mercury space flight occurred when I was in first grade. It was all very exciting. Even more titillating was the fact that someone brought in a TV so we could watch the lift off. A TV... at school. OMG! Forget about the first US astronaut to blast off into outer space. There was an honest-to-God television in my classroom. It was so close I could practically reach out and lick it (the thought did occur to me). Televisions in classromms, especially Catholic classrooms, were unheard of back in the early 1960’s. I became a big fan of the space program at that point, and memorized each crew. I even wanted to become an astronaut, until I found out about all that pesky math and science I’d have to learn. Plus, I’m sure I’d have my head buried in a barf bag the entire time. Also, the spacesuit would probably make my butt look big. I wonder if I would have been so interested in outer space if it hadn’t been for that TV in my classroom back in 1961. That memory still makes me smile, and lick my lips.