Goodbye Old TV

We will be getting a new television for our living room Friday.  My husband has wanted a larger and better quality television for a while and as his birthday is around the corner, he has been gifted the funds to purchase what he wants.  With it being Amazon Prime Day this week, he was able to find (what he tells me is) a great deal on a Samsung.  (Don't ask me the specifics, I don't know.  Although apparently you can talk to the remote.  I find this somewhat mind boggling, as I remember MANUALLY changing channels on a black and white set and that doesn't seem all that long ago.  But perhaps it is.)

There is nothing wrong with our current television.  (At least not in my eyes.)  It works just fine, although it is big and bulky.  It is also incredibly heavy.  Just how heavy I will find out as we take it from our house to the church where we will be donating it.  (You didn't think I would let a perfectly good television go to waste would you?  Just so happens that they need a tv and new DVD player and we just happen to have those two items.)  Hopefully the transition while be easy, painless and result in no broken anything.

My husband will be rearranging our "media center" for this new purchase.  Our home was built in 1923 and still remains firmly in the 20th century.  It's a challenge some times, but we work with it as best we can.  How does a 50 inch tv fit/work in a living room that was made for life in the 1920s?  Not necessarily well, but my husband does have an eye and with some tweaks, it will work.  And I'm sure I'll be happy with the results, especially on Sunday night when we settle in to watch our weekly dose of Twin Peaks.

I am happy that we will have a new and better tv, but I am also slightly sad to see the old one go.  It's not that I have a special attachment to it, but there is the memory of purchasing it and it is somewhat bittersweet.

It was the December 10, 2005.  (Yes, I'm sure of the date.   My husband saves all appliance instruction manuals and puts date of purchase on the cover.)  Our son was not yet 6 months old.  It was a holiday time.  NOT the time to hit the local stores.  (And after Black Friday sales.) I'll admit it, I couldn't face a day with no television.  But I didn't want to take an infant out shopping to search for a new one.  My husband doesn't drive and my parents (who live in town) were away.

I called my brother.  He came over.  I handed my husband cash that I had been saving in my emergency  and holiday funds.  (Ok, so this wasn't exactly an emergency, but...)  He and my brother drove off and in an hour or so they returned with this behemoth of a tv.  (Or at least it was at the time.)  They precariously set it on the stand that we had and then hubby went to work on hooking up all the necessary cables and wires. 

And for the past 10 or so years, that's where it's stayed.  It's where my son watched Curious George on PBS Kids.  It's where he watched endless episode of SpongeBob Squarepants.  It's where we watch The Big Bang Theory and Frasier.  (They are two of his favorite shows to watch in reruns.)  And none of it would have been possible without the help of my brother.

By getting rid of this tv, I am getting rid of a little piece of history that is tied in my mind to my brother.  That may seem silly, but there it is.  And I'm a little sad that I'll be tossing away a memory of my brother because each and every one is so precious to me now.

Thanks John for helping getting to get that TV on Saturday December 10, 2005.  It is getting a new home now and when I see it there I will think of you.