I have never had cable. As a child who grew up poor, we had a black and white TV set with bunny ears. As an adult, cable TV is a luxury I could never afford. Not to mention that working 2-3 jobs 60-70 hours per week, I didn’t have time to watch TV.

When my grandfather passed away (now over 20 years ago), I inherited his TV set. It was my first TV set in my adult life. It was my first color TV. I got bunny ears and had a few channels. I would turn the TV on when I got home from work at night just to have it on while I was getting ready for sleep. For Christmas that year, I got a DVD player. I could then watch DVDs on the TV also.

I had my grandfather’s old TV set for a few years. One day, I went to turn it on and instead of turning on, it just did this continual blinking – like it was trying to turn on but couldn’t. I called a friend who happened to work in radio at the time and asked if she could come over to fix the TV. 

It was a few weeks before my birthday. When my friend came over to “fix the TV,” she surprised me by giving me a new TV set that she said was for my birthday. That TV set is the same TV that I have today. If I remember correctly, I will say that TV is now about 17 years old. Since I had originally inherited a TV set from my grandfather and then received a new TV set for my birthday, I can honestly say I have never purchased a TV set in my life.

Over the years, I have had a few different DVD players. I have gone through at least 3 DVD players that I can think of. They don’t seem to last as long as TV sets. 

I primarily grew up on radio. I still prefer radio to TV. I would rather listen to baseball and hockey games on radio than watch them on TV. I listen to old radio shows on my cell phone. Back before TV, there were radio shows, much like those on TV, but without the visuals, obviously.

The bunny ears do not work in the house in which we now live. They don’t get reception here. I still use the TV, but only with the DVD player. Cable is too expensive. It’s a luxury item. I still prefer radio.

The past few years, I have been downsizing my DVD collection. I now have them minimized to the point where all the DVDs fit into the cabinet below the TV set. I no longer have an entire bookcase full of DVDs. Of course, they are curated so that I only kept my absolute favorites. I do have some World Series on DVD so I can watch baseball if I want to see it, in addition to listening to games on the radio. 

Given the age of my current TV set, I have decided that when this TV set breaks, I will not get another one. When this TV set dies, I will get rid of all my DVDs and just go without. Yes, I am using the TV set and DVD player since they are here. However, I do not feel it necessary to replace them when they are gone. I am just as happy listening to radio and reading. TV has never been a big focal point in my life. 

Maybe that is why I am so horrible at trivia. I miss a lot of popular culture references, as I have never had cable TV. I do not subscribe to any TV streaming services. It just doesn’t seem worth the money to me. I have so many other things I would rather do with my day than park myself in front of a screen to watch something. 

That’s not to say I don’t have my moments. I do have some favorite TV shows on DVD – Cheers, Highlander, Mash, the Golden Girls. I’m just not one to “Netflix and chill.” I listen to radio almost all day long. The TV set is not a daily habit. It’s one I can take it or leave it. 

I will enjoy the TV set and DVD player for as long as they continue to work. However, once this TV set dies, that’s it. I won’t get another one. My life does not revolve around it.