Happy Anniversary – Mom and Dad
On Dan’s and my 46th Anniversary, Gary, (our youngest son) decided it was time to visit us here in Arizona. He pops in every three months or so for a long weekend to check up on us, and this was one of his fact-finding missions. He arrived with his usual grand entrance, our “Gary Bear”- racing through the door and smothering me in a “Bear Hug” until I protested, “Stop!”
Then, as usual, the “inspection” phase of his visit began. (Remember, he still had his luggage in hands as this is taking place.) The first thing he did was glance at the big screen TV in horror . . . then immediately yelled, “What to hell Mom, the TV is coming in crappy!” He had talked me into ordering the “Best of the Best – Big Boy – 42 inch – Hi-Def – 1080 Pixel TV” when he’d flown over on the previous visit to help us move. Every time we talked on the phone (after I informed him the new TV was in and hooked into high definition) he asked about the picture, etc . . . “Is it coming in good? Isn’t HDTV Great Mom!!! Aren’t you happy I talked you into the extra pixels? The pictures soooo much better, isn’t it? Dad must love it, huh?” “Of course,” I responded in the affirmative to all the questions. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the “Big Boy” was fuzzy, the voice rattled, and the characters on TV would “jump” for no reason, racing across the screen.
Now, standing in the middle of our living room, luggage in hand, glaring at the TV, my tall, handsome son stood gawking in horror at the “Big Boy TV” like it was a rattlesnake ready to bite him. “What’s wrong with it?” he demanded. “Why,” I answered pitifully, “Isn’t it supposed to look like that?”
“Oh man,” he groaned. “Something’s not hooked up right.” Then he sent his dad off on a mission of tool collection, tore the “Big Boy” away from the wall, and began testing and retesting. An hour later . . . Triumph! “The damned intake box is defective,” he announced. Out to the truck with his Dad in tow, over to cable office, old box in hand (20 miles and it’s Friday afternoon – late). An hour later, new “Big Boy” TV with picture screen as clear as a bell, color perfect, no fuzziness, GREAT pixels, and nothing jumps or skitters across the screen. Then he proceeds to tear apart the remotes, resetting them all into one unit, and patiently teaching me how to use it. Then, he sighs a great sigh of relief, and finally – finally . . . sits down to watch the new TV and have a beer. Long trip! Mission accomplished! I love that boy!
Oh yeah, on Sunday, we watched the Arizona Cardinals whip the Philadelphia Eagles and earn the right to go to the Super Bowl for the first time in 62 years. The whole time I was watching the new and approved “Big Boy” with my husband and our son, yelling at the Cards to “Go-Go-Go!” I was also on the receiving end of ribbing pleasure, as Gary kept teasing me, telling me how great the “Big Boy” was coming in. He was right! I could actually see the whiskers and dirt of the football players as they raced across the screen. My “Big Boy TV” is coming in “that” clear, and in high definition no less!