Remember this? No? Then scram~This is for all who are "Of That Age". That's right, people who remember when TVs weren't color and Big Screens were what we all sneaked into at the local Drive-In. Don't know what a Drive-In is? Then what the hell are you still here for, I said scram, Pilgrim! The is for we who are Of that Age that had only had one TV station and the "Please Stand By" sign was on when the programs weren't, and that was most of the time. I never could figure out why they had an Indian Chief at the top, could you?
Remember this? The black & white television from Ratheon. This was the actual type of TV we had in 1956, but I was born in 1954, so you can imagine what a piece of junk it was when I remember watching it. By the time I remember watching it, it had a horizontal line that would never stop once the TV got warmed up. You could slap the side a few times and it would stop for a few minutes, then start again for the rest of the night. I hated that TV and that TV station. But, one day my dad came home with this, and it was love at first sight, I kid you not. A brand new Zenith Color TV. Yeeeeesssss!
It was beautiful. It was in color, but better than the drab color of my stupid world. It was In Living Color and by now we had three stations and a set of Rabbit Ears. If you don't know what Rabbit Ears are, Scram~We now had three TV stations, but they went off at eleven o'clock and then it was back to the Stand By sign. But the first time I saw Bonanza in color and the map went from black and white into a burning map blazing with color, I thought it was the coolest thing since Kool-Aid, and it was. Next up, about ten year later, was this beauty.
When we got this, I was in heaven. Look at this TV. It's beautiful and TVs had character back then. The wood (real would, wow) was as beautiful as the TV screen. It was great craftsmanship put together with pride by the best workers in the world at one time. We may still be, I haven't worked in a while, but I do know this crap we are buying from China is just that. I have to admit, China and Japan and Korea made better products than us for awhile. But if my next TV is any indication, we'll be back in the saddle soon. I smashed this piece of excrement into what I hope is a million pieces.
This is a 42' Big Screen High Def TV with Surround Sound that I paid over a $1000 for in 2006. It lasted one year and one month and blew the power board. Of course, I didn't get the extended warranty because it's a rip-off on most products. Our TVs used to last 10, 15, 20 years. Why buy an extended warranty. I emailed the company and to make a very long story short, it was my problem. Call a cop. I bought a part for $129 but it was the wrong one. I sent off for the other part that fixed it but cost a $150 more and I did the labor. In less than a year the TV blew-up again. I called about the parts, but imagine this, new parts have only a 30-day warranty. New parts have only a 30-day warranty? Who knew? I lost money but the pleasure I got from smashing that piece of crap will always be with me. Now, well...,
I bought a TV just like this one at a yard sale for $30. It's 26" with a great picture and surround sound, imagine that. It has a beautiful picture and never goes out. As a matter of fact, it's just like the one I gave my son when I bought that damn Vizio Big Screen. Never again, at least for awhile. I see where you can buy the same TV for under $500 now, half of what I paid. All new TVs, VCR's, DVD's. etc., cost a fortune at first and then in a few years they cost less and last longer. The Zenith TV we had lasted over 15 years and we still had it when I went into the army. Let's hope we can start making great things again. I think that's the only way we'll get out of this economic mess. Hell, look at the car industry. Oh, I still want my Mapo~
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Comments
R
and a Ox Farrier.
He win Plow Mule.
Use TV in P.U. Truck.
I sell my B & W Cheap.
View T.V.. Slurp Maypo.
Invite Jake Sugarman.
He carry `Honey-Jug.
Cuddle on` Suffa-Seat.
Look? Dimes in cushion.
Buy Loco-goat-milk Jug.
Gads
Thanks
Gerald Anderson. Honest.
In 1932 You Won The Gold.
You ran the 1,500 Meter.
I swear I read that is true.
Your words made me smile and brought back a whole magilla of memories. You see my dad was a "television technician" (and the only poor one in the entire US of A). He fixed TVs, which back in the day were worth fixing as there wre always tubes to be changed and wiring to be soldered.
Thus growing up we had every kind of tv under the sun at any given time, every room had one, none of them perfect or even pretty because as you might have figured, they were all TVs that people didn't pick up or want to pay for, so they were very often scratched or damaged. Most of them didn't have knobs. We became quite adept at turning channels with pliers and even little fingers. My dad hooked up a special speaker so we had a remote speaker to pipe the sound through, so as not to wake up my baby brother Kenny.
We had more than one channel thank goodness. I'm a NYer, but the truth is one channel, ten channels, they ALL went off the air at 11pm, until late 60s I think it was, CBS gave us late night movies: "The Late Show" AND "The Late Late Show". It was GREAT! TV back then was great. And you're correct, the cabinets were beautiful. Life was a lot better back then, even for those of us who didn't have much. We didn't need the words "hope and change", it was something we felt was out there to find for ourselves.
I can STILL sing the song!
http://oursalon.ning.com
HUGGGGGGGG
say "i want my mapo" in a singsongy whiny way
to humiliate me
when i was being a spoiled brat, asking for
something she was unwilling to get me.
Like a goddamn color tv. We didnt get one til 1978,
for chrissakes. I was 11 by then, and had missed out
seeing all my favorite shows in color in my formative yrs.
I have an awful confession.
It has been weighing on me. Once, when i was a teenager
and addicted to tv, i decided we needed to upgrade, so...i stuck
a clotheshanger down into the works
to destroy our hardy old color tv.
"Mom! Dad! The tv is busted!" I told em the next morning.
Off we went to Sears & got a halfway decent one....
SB, you don't watch it at all. No news, nothing. I never turn it off, it's background noise because I hardly ever watch it.
Art, I have to look up the history of the Olympics. Gerald for the Gold.
Monkey, I watched it but the song is history I'm afraid!
Mark, my older brother and I fought like monkey's on a rock over the right color. He always won, bully~
Tor, My dad brought one of those back from Germany. It had the TV, stereo and record player. It looked great and lasted forever.
Thanks Mary. I saw an article about Sherman Hemsley who just died and saw the TV. He was "Movin" on up". Hope he made it.
Linda, you're not that old. Scram, hah~
J, in the country, we were lucky to get one station. AM radio and all country, all the time, I hated it.
We now have a flat screen thing in our Florida Condo...but in NH we have 3 small TVs in different rooms. Husband has 18" for games. Basically I dislike most TV. Prefer the internet. Living room for reading and music...no TV there. House quiet. Like it that way.
One of these days I guess I'll get one but it doesn't feel necessary.
it comes with a flat screen tv
my current HD tv got blue pixel disease
it lasted one year after bulb replacement (ten years total)
oh well
i just bought a house
there will be no tie for tv
and i loved Mapo
You Suck
Buy PRODUCT
Suck Less
Appears to apply to both the mechanism and its content.
Lezlie
I remember watching Mickey Mouse Club with the two doors to the cabinet on either side of my head and my nose about 8 inches from the screen. I watched the Beatles on Ed Sullivan on that set. /R
(I'm not old enough to remember that myself, but got to love a dad who ran an antique store!! :D)
Remember when the signal (often weather) would cause the screen to flip and there was this little knob in the back you had to fiddle to get the screen to stop, and you had to watch the screen and fiddle at the same time?
I think that's why we needed the rabbit ears. I remember putting tin foil on the tips for better reception.
We didn't have TV when I was a wee tad. Fact is I remember when we got our first Radio! Big old cabinet radio, full of tubes, that was hooked up to a car battery. Had to run an antenna out to the top of the pine tree in the yard to get anything to come in.
First TV I saw must've had about a 7 inch round screen. We got our first TV sometime in the early '50's. From that point on there was always at least one in easy reach until about 3 years ago.
Now, I've come full circle. I got rid of my TV about 3 years ago. Don't miss it at all. My iMac provides my choice of background music as I peck away at the keyboard. My BOSE radio tells me the news, the time, and shuts itself off while I drift off to sleep. It even dims the clock's lighted numerals automatically when I turn off the lamp - yeah by remote.
I'm not against high-tech stuff but a lovely high-tech TV is of no use when there is nothing worth 2 seconds of my time available to be seen that I can't get on my computer.
Oh yeah, my reading of books has increased a lot in the last 3 years too. Wonder why that is......
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but where the f. you been? you got responsibilities i know.
but what about os?
we are sinking.
or rising.
it depends on good men and women coming to the rescue.