Photo by Russ Neumeier
Some of you may remember when, as a child, you were the remote control for the television set that did not even come with a remote. I know I do. Just recently this rite of passage went full circle in our home only with some modern twists.
Growing up when I did, our TV had two dials – one for UHF and one for VHF. There were many times where when my parents wanted to watch something different on TV: it was my role to get up and stand by the TV with the clunk, clunk, clunk as I turned the dial back and forth to find the new show my parents wanted.
I celebrated the day that the old Zenith TV was finally replaced with a set that had a remote control. I almost didn’t know what to do with myself. Now, the remote allowed you to change channels up and down only – no jumping from channel 5 to channel 54 – but the freedom to sit uninterrupted on the couch was paradise… unless it was all hands on deck to find the lost remote.
Fast forward to a modern time when the kids in the house are tween/teens. They have never had a TV in the house that did not come with a remote. At least until a week or so ago when one of the dogs decided to chew the remote for the TV. The kids were stunned… stunned into immobility. “We can’t watch TV,” they said. “Sure you can,” I replied, and then demonstrated how to:
- Get off the couch
- Walk to the TV
- Press the buttons on the side of the TV
“Oh” came their still-puzzled reply.
The groans and complaining started the moment that the GeekMom and I decided we wanted to watch something else and the tween/teen were called on to
- Get off the couch
- Walk to the TV
- Press the buttons on the side of the TV
The story doesn’t end there, however, as we got caught up in a modern twist my parents never had to deal with. The V-chip. We’ve got the V-chip on the TV set to block certain ratings, but without a remote to type in your four-digit code to override the settings, you are stuck. So, a day later I was in the store buying a new universal remote.
The other strange thing that I found was where I purchased the remote. After doing some internet searches and looking at the websites for the stores in my area for the remote I wanted, it was Home Depot that had the remote in stock. Some of the other places you would think of getting a replacement remote at – Best Buy, WalMart, or Target – could order it and have it delivered.
We also now keep the remotes on the mantle of the fireplace when we leave the house… well out of reach of the dogs.
