Friday, October 9, 2009

MISSING TOE MAGIC

One of the biggest events of all time was the arrival of a color television to our neighborhood. For you young folk… please note that I said “a” color television.




We did not all run out and get a color TV when they hit the market. If your parents were like mine, you waited for your own set for a long time after the first buyers brought one home. That did not stop us from whining and begging as people we knew began to purchase these modern wonders.




My dad said simply “That’s stupid. They don’t even have color shows yet.” This ended the whining and begging. My mother who had the knack of getting him to spend money that he wanted to keep said “I think Jack Paar is in color.” When he looked up from his newspaper to glare at her, she pretended to be deep in her women’s magazine. The rug rats dared to hope. The Jack Paar Show was his favorite program.




The first color television in our neighborhood did not belong to us. The McPs were the lucky family. My parents had five kids. The McPs only had one. My father often pointed out this fact. That one child was my friend Priss. She was totally cool on a whole other level being the only child we knew who’s father had run over her foot with a lawn mower and mowed off a couple of toes. I myself had parted with one toe that was gratefully sewn back into place. Priss’ toes were not in any condition to be put back on once spewed all over her lawn. She was chasing her toy poodle around the corner of the house when the collision occurred. Yikes. What a scream ! Loud and undulating. Made me stop in my tracks and refuse to look around the corner.




The television set was in part to make up for the accident. Guilt is a powerful thing. But the McPs were heavy into being trendsetters. They not only had an outdoor pool, but they had a pool house. They didn’t just have a garden, they had a gazebo in the middle of the garden and a gardener who did the crap that goes with keeping a garden like that up. In the garden next to the gazebo was a fish pond. I could go on, but you get the point I’m sure.




We watched the Sears truck make the delivery and we all knew what was in that box. Priss had talked nonstop about it for days. Mr. McP looked at us from his porch and said “What are you all staring at? Go on… run on home.” He was smiling. I went home, laid my bike on its side and ran inside to call Priss. Yes, it was the television set. Yes, they were setting it up. They had to put up a new antenna first. I sighed and hung up the phone.




A waiting game began. I called so many times about it that Mr. McP answered the phone and told me to stop calling. Days passed and nothing. No invitation to watch the miracle of color on the television.





Sunday rolled around and I happened to see Priss coming home from church. I’d passed her house a hundred times already that day hoping to get a peek. She begged her dad to let me see it. He sort of sagged, then sighed and agreed. I could come at 6:00 and watch the color portion of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. I was higher than a rocket. Wahoo! I was in.

I wasn’t the only one. When I arrived at 6:00 so did every kid on two blocks. Even Abercrombie the zombie and his older meaner brother who called us “babies” showed up. Priss stuck her head out the window and told us to gather around.





“They’re going to break the roses… better let them in.” Mrs. McP complained. Thus we gained entrance to the foyer, where we stood in a huddle, nudging and jockeying for better position as we peered down the long living room at the shiny mahogany cabinet with the fancy brass bling and a dull black and white screen in a tiny window. Someone behind me whispered “Where’s the color?”.





Then Tinkerbell brought the magic! The castle came into view and Tink… darted across the screen tapping her magic wand here and there and where it touched a color blossomed and ran down the screen. Red, yellow, blue, black! All the children gasped. It was magic of the highest order. We were awe struck. A brief montage of color photos...then with a wink as wicked as Sleeping Beauty’s Stepmother...the color vanished and was replaced with Walt Disney’s less than magical face. As a unit we groaned.





Mr. McP ran us all out then. That was the color portion of the Walt Disney Wonderful World of Color. It was followed by the same dull black and white travel log of the Grand Canyon that was on our own television sets at home. Grumbling at first, then chattering with excitement as we made our way back home, we left the miracle behind. It would be about two years before my dad would give in and get a set for our home. During that time I often ran down the street in the summer time to catch a glimpse of the opening to Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color through the McP’s window. Once or twice I even got to spend the night and sit cross legged in front of the set up close. The magic was still fresh, but never so miraculous as that first time seeing color splash across the television screen.

31 comments:

  1. As I am a bit younger, I grew up with a color TV. We also had other black and white sets in other rooms of the house. That was a bit unusual, but my dad fixed TVs, and he would occasionally keep a set that someone else didn't want to pay to have fixed.

    I do remember the bit about Disney being in color. They kept the opening bit years after any of us thought it was a big deal anymore. I remember asking about it and was told that when they first started watching color TV the only shows in color were Disney and Star Trek.

    Motels used to have "Color TV" in their ads.

    My grandparents had a color TV. They didn't particularly want one, but they ended up with one anyway cause Dad found them a good deal or something.

    It's odd to picture your neighbors getting a pool and a gazebo and all that other stuff before they got a color TV. No one would get any of that stuff before the TV. And I know a few people here and there who have pools or fish ponds, but I can't think of anybody who bothered to get all of that stuff. The odd thing right now is that I know a couple with a pool, and they have two TVs in the same room. Their new house just happened to come with a pool, but I don't think that they particularly wanted one.

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  2. laughing-- It is weird to look back at that time. All those things were luxuries that most people did not buy, even pools were a big deal, espeically if you had a pool house. Funny how ten years after everyone had a pool, a color TV and a gardener in my neighborhood... including us. Ha.

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  3. Yes, I remember that. My parents were just like that. I remember colorless tv. Of course I remember dinosaurs too.

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  4. Jill-- Don't feel badly... I remember the dinosaurs too. Ha!

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  5. My parents brought home a black and white TV in about 1956, I think it picked up about two channels, there was some good shows on them though, but we never watched TV all that much.

    As a kid in a small town in the mountains I was much more interested in the things I could do outside.

    Seldom had a TV when I was raising my kids, we was always busy doing other things. Got a nice color TV here, turn it on about four times a year.

    Had a bunch of them, that were given to me, gave them away last year. Most of them, still have 3 or 4 here, wanna TV?

    I do stupid things sometimes, bought a new karaoke machine, only hooked it up once. It's more fun to do karaoke at the beer church.

    I went and got a free camp trailer, pic of it on my blog this morning, it will make a decent storage unit once it's cleaned up and painted.

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  6. BBC-- We had better programming when there were only 3 basic major networks. We hardly watch scheduled programs anymore. We use our TV more like a projector and turn it on for the movies or series we get elsewhere.

    My mom only allowed us to see the Mickey Mouse Club, otherwise we were outside creating fun.

    Another TV I don't need, but thanks anyway. Karoke is not my thing since I can't hold a tune to save my soul.

    Cool beans on the new trailer. I'll pop in and have a look-see.

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  7. Similar lives, to a point. My nutty dad refused to let us have a color TV. Said he would leave and never return if we bought a color TV. He made the same threat when my mom wanted to buy a fireplace cover. Yes, a fireplace cover to shield the hole in the wall. Needless to say, she did buy that fireplace cover. He didn't leave. She bought the color TV. He didn't leave. Now my parents have a color TV in every room in the house.
    To this day I don't know why my father said no to every modern thing. I'd ask him but he can't remember a darn thing. He thinks I'm the dog. Hmm.
    Miss Priss. 'Splains a lot.
    Another great post, Ananda.

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  8. Great story! I like the image of all the kids crowding into the foyer and gasping at the wash of color.

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  9. A TV is always on at our house whether it's being watched or not. Growing up, I had a black & white 19" Sylvania portable in my room and I remember dreading when the stations would shut down for the night. My dad would be the first to buy something ONLY if he wanted it, so we had color TV early on. If my mother wanted new furniture, that was too expensive and it had to wait.

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  10. Peggy-- My parents never made threats to each other, even in jest. My mom could make your life a misery though and that was her general ploy.

    My dad's was to go to the store for 3 hours. It got to where my mom would send one of us along to nag him for her. Oh the agony of the magazine section in Mayfair Market in the Tower District!

    I take it poor dad has gone into that fuzzy place. You look nothing like the dog. :-(

    Oh, Priss' parents were antiques... late forties when they had her and they were OLD people with no patience at all with kids. The whole house was a mine field of kid no-nos. Not the fun house on the block.

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  11. laura b.-- Thank you. It really is one of the biggest events in my young life and one of the few that I recall that did not end in physical damage to me personally, though if I recall correctly, I did have 7 stiches above my left eye at the time. They were blue and really cool. But nothing compared to that splash of color and Tinkerbell.

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  12. Cube-- At our house computer is king. The TV is mostly ignored but there are at least four computers running at all times. Squeaky uses two at the same time. I have one in my room and use it as a sedative otherwise its off.

    My mom almost always got whatever she wanted with no fight from my dad. The color TV was the only thing that I can recall that she did not get immediately. My father was madly, ridiculously in love with my mom until the day she died. I thought that all marriages were that way for the longest time.

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  13. I watched colorless TV on and off for years. Until this spring, really.

    I guess the real sign that colorless TV was dead was when they had those tests for DTV that had you check to see if you saw some sort of display in red, or in green.

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  14. We were poor. So, we didn't get a color set until the 80's. Sometimes when I see syndicated old shows, I am amazed that they were in color this whole time.

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  15. dmarks-- That really is a better term isn't it? Colorless TV. I like it.

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  16. Churlita-- I know. Its funny when I see The Munsters it seems totally normal to me that it is in black and white. Same with The Adams Family. Its only when one of the kids remark that they are black and white that I even notice.

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  17. Some actresses actually look more sexy on a black and white boob tube.

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  18. Such a wonderful story. I think we all have stories like this one, magical nostalgic stories from childhood where a discovery is so magnificent and jaw dropping...

    On another note, I wish my dad had mown my toes off. I bet I could've driven a hard bargain and gotten something cool. I would have asked for a 2nd German Shepherd, haha!!!

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  19. BBC-- I think that is very likely true!

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  20. Sebastien-- I love your sense of humor. Yes, childhood is such a great time of magic and discovery. I liked mine even with it's horror sides. I would not be me without them.

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  21. What are you still doing here? Isn't it time for you to get over to Larry's to get your ta-ta's kissed? He he he.

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  22. The most magical thing about my childhood was camping, and I'm not a bit sorry about that.

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  23. I was born after the initial amazement of color TV. I had to wait many, many years (up to last year) to witness the beauty of High-Definition TV. I like these looks back to these earlier days. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. we went through the same deal with color tv.

    it was the remote control that really improved my life. i think getting my first remote control was a greater spiritual happening for me than for a christian becoming born again.

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  25. BBC-- You know Larry has a computer right?

    We camped too. I fed the rabbit Trix cereal and got in trouble. They liked it.

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  26. AlienCG-- I know a lot of folk are not as old so I'm glad you don't mind the blast from the past.

    High Def is sort of weird for me. Things have changed so much since then... and my following it with the boys and their games, etc. That when Hi Def arrived I had trouble seeing the difference. Probably my old TV can't present it well, but I don't see much variation in picture quality. So do you think its my TV?

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  27. billy pilgrim-- Aaahhh... the remote. Ha. I got my first remote when my husband went to prison... our TVs came with one before that but they weren't used for some reason. Then when I got a personal little TV for my room for company, I used the remote. Now I cannot live without one.

    The one feature that I don't care for on the remote is the snooze... because if you misplace the remote, your TV is off and you cannot do a thing about it. That has made me crazy a time or two.

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  28. Were dinosaurs in black and white too back in those days? Haha, I am just too funny. Loves!

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  29. thebear-- Hahahahaha... you are a bad bear! But I will keep you. You make me laugh when I need it.

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  30. I only remember color TV, but I also remember how it was more of a family event to sit around and watch a show.

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  31. secret agent woman-- You are right, in my family, we did watch as a family. I was a teen before I watched anything by myself. But my parents were progressive thinkers and we got to watch things that other parents might not have allowed their kids to watch. For example, I was 14 when my parents took me to see the play "Hair"... with its swearing, nudes, drug culture and anti war themes.

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