Dear Crabby,
My kids and grand kids are always talking about high definition televisions and saying I should get one, but I really like my old TV. Do you think these new, fancy things are worth it?
Sincerely, Blake Anwhite
Dear Mr. Anwhite,
I know exactly what you are talking about. Just about the time you get something broken in and you feel comfortable with it, these young kids want you to go and change it again. I had my trusty old Sony TV for 25 years, and we were getting along just great. I knew exactly what channels to go to, how to fix the bad reception, and most importantly how to turn it on and off! As a matter of fact, one of my best friends had the same TV. That came in really handy. Sometimes, Mrs. Crabby and I would go over there for dinner, and I would bring my remote in my pocket. When the four of us would head into the living room to watch some TV, I would wait for very strategic moments to change the channel or raise the volume. My buddy and his wife would start
bickering and going at it with each other – each blaming the other for the troubles. One time I didn’t even mean to do it! I had actually fallen asleep while they were watching some sappy romance about guy and a gal meeting for the first time on top of the Empire State building, and right when they were supposed to meet, I twisted in my chair and hit the power button. You could hear that women holler all the way to the Empire State Building! As a by-product of my shenanigans, my buddy and his wife got a new flat screen TV to try to fix their problems. So the missus suggested that we get one too. We even upgraded our cable to the HDTV package. I will tell you though, I can’t hardly turn my TV on or off now without a refresher course every time! Once she is up and running it seems to be really clear, but that’s not always great either. When did my buddy Pat Sajak get all those wrinkles? And poor Alex Trebek looks like Matlock all of the sudden! Last weekend, they had a John Wayne marathon and I actually had to turn it off half way through – the poor guy looked old and fat. Of course, my kids tell me that’s cause he was near the end of his career. So, as far as your issue of whether or not to upgrade, I would tell you to hold off as long as possible. These changes are getting harder and harder to adjust to. My grandson asked me the other day why people say “dial” when referring to entering a phone number. He said, “There are no dials on phones – what are they talking about?” Boy, just when I think I cannot feel any older, they go and say something like that! Hang in there, old friend, and let me know how it works out.
Sincerely, Dear Crabby
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