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A television set used to be part of the furniture. My grandma would put a doily with an African violet on hers. And a picture of the grandkids. And a knick-knack shaped like a cardinal.
Now, the whole world has gone flat screen. My parents. The neighborhood bars. Even our newsroom.
Well, I have an old TV set in my bedroom that I don’t plan on parting with until it decides the relationship is over. My parents gave it to me when I was in college, back when Dana Carvey was doing his “Not gonna do it” President Bush impression.
I had it when Nick at Nite was filled with good shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Donna Reed.” Now I use a VCR remote to quickly flip past Uncle Jesse and “Full House” reruns.
The picture and sound are fine, as long as you don’t compare it to the new-fangled TVs. The remote broke long ago. So did its replacement. But there’s something about that old TV I love.
Maybe because it’s old. I like the dent on the bottom of it. That happened after my dad dropped it while helping me move from one crappy college house to another. It still worked back then and it still works now.
A friend of mine has gone through nine cell phones in 10 years. He came across the extras while moving recently. There wasn’t anything wrong with any of the old ones. He bought his most recent phone after discovering that someone at work had a cooler phone than he did.
I’m still on my first cell phone. My cell phone company keeps suggesting I trade up, sending me offers via e-mail that they claim are too good to pass up.
I like my beat-up banged-up dented cell phone. It can make and receive calls, which is everything it needs to do.
You can take your skinny little laptop that fits in an envelope. I’ll use my paid-for, 6-year-old computer, thank you very much.
It isn’t just an aversion to figuring out new gadgets. It’s an aversion to paying for new gadgets when old ones do the trick.
We all get caught up in technology, like we have to have the latest, greatest. I don’t.
My stereo system was given to me when I turned 21. There’s a blotch on one of the enormous speakers left by a former roommate who somehow got spaghetti sauce on it. That’s what you call character.
My one concession is a new iPod. It had to replace the old one that I would be perfectly happy using except it broke. Apparently the new one has video capability, not that I’ve used it.
Technology is great and has helped make our lives easier, but that doesn’t mean we need to throw every old thing out. If it ain’t broke, use it until it is.
Other people can have state-of-the-art. I’m more than happy with state-of-the-adequate.
Contact Käri Knutson at
kknutson@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3523.
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