The Good Old Days
I grew up without television. Not that I am that old, just that I was in a boarding school from the age of 5 through 18 and there was little or no TV. Even when I went home for the holidays, my parents were always living in some exotic land and, again, TV didn’t feature very highly on the list. So it wasn’t until the mid 80’s when I became a stay at home Mum, that I even began to watch on a regular basis. And then it was mostly children’s shows like Postman Pat or The Magic Roundabout - Yes, I was living in England.
Today I live in a home with 6 TV’s, and there is always a TV on from about 5.30am when my room mate gets up to about 2.00am when the other room mate goes to bed. Sometimes, three, or even four, of the TV’s will be on even though there are only three of us living in the house.
And I will be the first to admit, that I watch way too much TV. I wish I could say it was quality shows like the History Channel, or Discovery, or even CNN or MSNBC, but alas, it is more of the hour long dramas like Law and Order, Brothers and Sisters, 24 etc. Not so much of the half hour comedies, although I will admit to getting hooked on Friends round about season 3 or 4.
Where am I going with this? Well the other evening in one of our “sitting around the kitchen table” chats, my room mate remarked that apparently the cookie is baked by the time you are 7 years old - meaning that who and what you are is determined by the time you are 7. This was being used to explain my lack of attachment to material things, even homes of my own, and my ability to pack up and move - homes, jobs, countries - without a backward glance - but it left me reflecting on other apsects of my life and could they be explained by the first 7 years. Interesting exercise! To cut to the chase - I am now a TV junkie because I was deprived during the first 7 years of my life - well the first 30 years actually - but who’s counting!!
Happy watching!
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