Sunday Scribblings December 30, 2007
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Then and Now
In 1980
we unplugged
our TV
and put it in the closet.
Suddenly, our home
was alive
with human interaction.
We played cards,
read books,
talked,
swung,
rode bikes,
laughed.
No more electric
waves piercing
us with arrows
of poisoned
programming.
No more stupefied
kids sitting
with thumbs
in their mouths,
blank looks
on their faces,
cotton batting
in their brains.
Tonight, I’m sitting
here in the living
room with my laptop
open; my husband
is watching
Combat Zoneon the Military Channel.
Our home is filled
to bursting
with canned words
and music
leaving no space
for us.
We haven’t spoken
in two hours.
All I hear is the pt pt pt
of a machine gun
shooting bullets
right through the screen.
Well written and well done!! We have three TV's running and three computers, and only four members in our family -- Pt Pt Pt indeed. I think I will log off and play with my four year old.
ReplyDeleteI hear you! I'm trying to wean myself of the tube...Nice poem!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Some of my favourite childhood memories are of when our power went out and the whole family would gather in the living room and talk, instead of three separate tv's for four people! I think tv is pretty much the greatest evil. I don't watch tv, but I do watch dvd's, which is probably not much better!
ReplyDeleteLovely poem - I really enjoyed it. :)
i have a love hate relationship with tv... i only ever watch one channel.. turner classic movies.. there is no commercial advertising on it,, and it is for the most part all old black and white movies,, many of which i have seen a million times and it is like greeting old friends...
ReplyDeleteI do not watch TV. I only switch it on for the news. Even that I get via the net.
ReplyDeleterediscovering
I like the way the form of the poem follows the subject - the disconnect in the beginning illustrated by short lines, followed by the list of things you did and the full stanzas in the middle, then the marvelous disconnect in the next-to-last stanza.
ReplyDeleteI have not had a working TV in 15 years, though I do use the screen to watch an occasional movie. I so agree - those bullets do shoot right through the screen! Great piece!
What a marvelous and truthful Take on the prompt.
ReplyDeleteWell done, very well done.
Maybe you should put the tv back in the closet?
ReplyDeleteNot much of tv watcher these days but then I was constantly stuck to the screen but now I am stuck to a computer screen - I'm wondering if it's any better.
Excellent commentary on how technology has made human contact and interaction more difficult in our own homes. Even if we didn't own a TV, dual laptops create new distances were they previously did not exist.
ReplyDeletevery true..!
ReplyDeleteVery well said!
ReplyDeleteI know, before all these new gadgets came about there was more interaction, it's sad to see it decreasing...although I just cant imagine a life without PC!!! how on earth did I survive before that? I havent a clue....Happy 2008 to you and yours :)
ReplyDeleteI like this because it's really well written but more because it focuses not so much on bad TV but on how good life can be without TV.
ReplyDeleteWith TV, we see more than we think. With PC, we touch more of our senses and we serve more people not in one country but many. And it's addictive. I'm shutting down to be with my family.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
Great Post ... Thank YOU!
ReplyDeleteWe've lived without TV for 12 years now, and very well. I must admit that Internet has been a replacement to some extent, though...and it has its addictive aspects too.
ReplyDeleteLinda, your poetry always goes right to the heart of my domestic life! It seems as if you're peering into my living room and right into my brain as well.
ReplyDeleteI am in total agreement- and I know I rely on my own electronic addiction far too much.
Going without sounds so much like the days at my grandparents... simply wonderful. I program the dvr for what I want to watch and then don't worry about missing anything.... and go about my life.
ReplyDeleteGreat take!
Dee
http://pavinganewroad.wordpress.com/
I'm writing this comment while sitting in the living room. The TV is on and my family is watching a movie. I thought I should at least be in the same room. But, you know what??
ReplyDeleteI can't stand the noise coming from the incessant commercials etc.
Since writing came back into my life, TV has definately taken a back seat for me. I'm very grateful.
Dear Goddess Linda,
ReplyDeleteLoved this post!!!
When the TV is in our closet, it is when we are the happiest as well. Thanks for the reminder.
And thank you for your post on my blogspot. I loved the Alchemist. I would have loved reading that in highschool. It opened up my mind and taught me eternal truths.
Wishing you,
Peace & Love, Just Because,
Goddess Diana
I loved your post. Sometimes I get so tired of the electronics taking over our lives and the kids not knowing what it was like when I was young and we were bored and we created our own fun. But, I'm also guilty of have too many electronics going at once.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I spent my childhood playing outdoors more often than not even though we had television. About the only time I'd watch was on Saturday mornings when the cartoons were still actually good. How things have changed. It's been only ten and a half years since my class graduated high school and I can see in my nephews how everything has changed. Tragic, really.
ReplyDeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteI watch very little tv programing and would't miss it at all if it left the building. But the lap top has replaced it in spades!
We sit in the same room each with their respective laptops and surf----sharing has't been sacrificed yet. ;)
Nicely done, girl.
rel
We were three people in a large studio apartment with 250 cable channels, one desktop, one laptop, one Nintentendo, one Game Boy, one game gear, too many games to count, DVD player, VCR, and five cell phones between us.
ReplyDeleteI used to IM my daughter across the room, while hubby sat in his chair listening to machine guns ratatattat.
Thanks for stopping in to visit.
Frances
Hi, Linda. This rings so true.
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