THE CURMUDGEON AND LOUD TV

This past Sunday, the 17^th, was the birthday of the British mystery writer Ruth Rendell. The biographic blurb in The Writer’s Almanac said this:

Rendell describes herself as a workaholic, follows the same routine every day, writing for about four hours every morning and then eating the exact same lunch: bread, cheese, salad and fruit. But she has said that, despite producing an average of two books per year for almost 50 years, she doesn't feel like she's churning anything out. "If I did," Rendell explains, "I would stop. I am quite happy to go on doing what I am doing now for the rest of my life. I don't see why I should stop."

What struck me as being particularly apropos to my own life was the “I am quite happy to go on doing what I am doing now for the rest of my life.  I don’t see why I should stop.”  Exactly!  I love doing what I’m doing and leading the life I lead.

It amazes me that there are so many companies out there who are bound and determined that I change my ways. These last few days, with Frank just back from shoulder surgery, I’m sitting with him more than usual. The TV will sometimes be on, even though both of us are reading. We’ve usually left it on after watching something on NatGeo or Smithsonian or on of the “educational” channels. He thinks I’m watching and I think he is, and then we both gat a jolt when the ads come on. One thing about these channels is that you don’t get the usual advertising for regular supermarket items like mayonnaise or cereal or decongestants. They yell their messages. It’s ‘In Your Face’ advertising. And don’t tell me the advertisements are now supposed to be broadcast at the same sound level as the regular programming. 

Balderdash!

I don’t want to stop, I don’t want to change a thing, even to save a few dollars. I’ve been happy for years with the things we own, but I’m told I can live better with these knives, that frying pan, and all those leftovers containers with attached lids.  I am pleased with what we have and the services we use now, but I am exhorted to switch companies to save money on all types of insurance, phone, and TV servers. I have to laugh at the thought that I can record up to five TV shows at once on one company’s DVR system. Good grief! If I don’t even have an hour to see one show, how am I going to scrape together the time to see five? I wouldn’t want to invest any of my time in searching out the so-called savings. Excess, excess, excess!

Whywouldya?   

And what have we learned these past few days?

We’ve learned to turn off the @#$%&-ing TV, that’s what we’ve learned!

 

The CALM act was supposed to have gone into effect here on December 13, 2012.
The Canadians were there ahead of us on September 1st.
Many TV stations have yet to get the message.