It’s rumored that
on this upcoming Sunday there’s a sporting event taking place that will attract
more than 110 million viewers. You knew it was coming when last Sunday’s
newspaper was filled with advertising from K-Mart, Target and every local
appliance store describing gigantic savings on gigantic-sized television sets.
We have a 20”
RCA color television set that I recently bought on October 22, 1989, and it was
in excellent shape, until I noticed that I had to sit nearer to hear the sound
clearly. At first I thought that I was just growing deaf in my advanced years,
however, when my young wife Carmen noticed it too, we knew something had to be
done since our extended warranty ran out in October 1990.
There were three
viable choices; (1) we would not watch television ever again, which is a very
acceptable solution, (2) we could buy a newer, slim-line 29” set, now on sale
for less than $350, or (3) we could repair our current set.
Our home’s décor
is mainly dark, wooden antique, and our current television set has a faux wood-grained
metal exterior that comfortably fits in, so we opted for the latter choice at an
estimated cost of $165. The set is bulky and heavy, and when we called the
repair shop, Greg said it would cost an additional $55 if we needed them to pick
it up from our home and deliver it after it was repaired. He was nearby, so we
asked him to stop by, and when he did, he took out an instruction sheet on controls,
played around with our remote for perhaps five minutes, and fixed the problem
for $85. There was no extended warranty given, but we had our practically new
set operating again as it should.
I get attached
to older things that still work, including my Grandmother’s 1920s toaster where
you lower the right and left metal panels, and it browns one side of a slice of
bread at a time. I have to keep an eye on it or else smoke may arise as the
bread is blackened.
If you walk
through my home you’ll find a lovely china cabinet from the 1950s that belonged
to my parents, and an art deco lamp that’s nearly seventy-five years old, that
I inherited from my Mother’s first cousin Peggy.
I have one suit
and it’s green corduroy complete with vest, which I will wear only on special
occasions. I bought it new for my nephew Brian’s Bar Mitzvah that took place in
1979.
I also enjoy
driving my 1987 Honda CRX SI that I bought practically new in 1990. Its most
amazing characteristics are that it has only 126,028 miles, its body is slowly
oxidizing and looks like a piece of art, and the sun roof will open
electronically, but it has to be hand cranked closed.
Then there are
cherished friends that I have stayed connected with for years. This month, when
I was on the west coast of Florida, I stayed with Bernie, and when I was on the
east coast, I stayed with Arnie. I have known each of them for more that sixty
years.
As far as what
I’ll do this upcoming Sunday, that’s not such a tough decision. First, I will
either walk on a nearby deserted beach as I have done during past games, or
take in a movie in a nearly vacant theatre.
Then I will come
home and have a bowl of my wife’s delicious chicken soup, which is made from my
Grandmother Fox’s recipe that is at least seventy-five years old.
As far as following
any sports event that takes place this Sunday, I may read about it in the
Monday morning newspaper, but only after I finish the crossword puzzle.
