"T.V." OR IS IT "TV" -- NO IT'S "TELLY"

Don't ask me why.  I have no idea, absolutely no idea how I get these "thoughts" invading my quevates unexpectedly.  Don't ask me why I was just sitting here minding my own business when all of a sudden my personal experiences along with the  family history of the introduction of television into our lives interrupted my peaceful existence.  How does that happen?  It's very strange.  I remembered the crowds of people standing out on the the sidewalk and partly into the street watching a black and white television behind a huge show case window that would not let the sound escape from inside.   If this had been Southern California I guess it would have been half bad.  But freezing cold Massachusetts?  Sheeesh!  But, there is was.
The first television in our neighborhood was two or three houses down.  It used to be the Sawyer house and then one day the Sawyers were gone and the Mikna family moved it.   The Sawyers were all older people and I suppose the children grew up, got married and left.  So the Mikna arrived with their brood and the neighborhood was crawling with action again.  I can't tell you how much time it was before the front of the Mikna house was the gathering place for children who wanted to watch TV.  It was pretty degrading, but at ten years old or so, what's to degrade?  Besides, we all thought that Mrs. Mikna had placed the TV where we could see it on purpose.  We all accepted her as a nice lady.  Not only was it degrading to stand there, but if we would have given it some thought, we would have perhaps come to the conclusion that we were not all that smart to be standing there watching a picture that was so fuzzy that you could not see much.  That was only the beginning.  We also could not hear anything because the set was inside the house.  To this day, I cannot fathom why we would have sacrificed the "Lone Ranger" and the "Shadow" and the "Green Hornet" for the silly little fuzzy, blurry, black and white shadow box that we could not even hear.
But wait... there's a voice of reason here.  It is the booming thunder voice, the VOICE of the Great Wallet Bearer.  Oh boy, Great Wallet Bearer has no love for bad quality costing big heap of George Washington pictures.  This is White Man's ruse to keep simple people quiet during night time.  Great Wallet Bearer says that better quality pass time is Library.  Also not at night.  Day time.  Safer.  Also, learn more.  Pictures much clearer and in focus.  No mind they can't talk.  Mikna TV talks, but picture so fuzzy, talk should shut up.  So, you stay home.  Radio talks.  Newspaper has pictures.  Radio free.  Newspaper .25c a week.  Better deal.  Now time for Cognac.  
So, believe it or not, it was years, I mean years before a television set made it into the Dion house.  In fact, correct me if I am wrong, but it is my notion that the Great Wallet Bearer never did spring for a TV.  He didn't have to because he went to the Happy Hunting Ground.  I'm curious about this.  Help me out, all you papooses and ... ?  What's the feminine of papoose?  


Oh, before I go.  Does anyone know what ever happened to the Mikna children?  I can only remember Patsy.


Finally.  We have two television in our house.  We use one, for about 40 hours per year.  We watch "60 Minutes" but only the originals, not the reruns.  The rest of the time we are working on our writing or watching the news on the streaming screen of our laptops.  I wonder what the Great Wallet Bearer would think about low price for TV and high price to plug it in?  No wonder we spend our lives wanting to go to heaven.  So when I do, remember that there is to be "No Crying at My Funeral."
I often wonder where I'm going to find someone to sing, "J'Irai la voir un Jour" in SoCal?  Oh, well, that's your problem.