I certainly gave away my age this past week when I told my son-in-law that I “taped” a program to watch later. He looked at me puzzled and asked, "Do you mean you recorded something?” I stopped and thought, ‘What's the difference?’ and the planet shifted.
I have a tiny box that sits on my shelf and is the lifeline to the television world. This is new to me; I've only had a television since Christmas.
Today's shows stream over multiple platforms. There is one channel I enjoy with shows like: Magnum PI (with Tom Selek), Hawaii 50 (with Jack Lord), and S.W.A.T. (with Steve Forest), The Golden Girls, and Three’s Company.
Back in the day, channels could be found by “turning” the antenna outside, reaching up beyond the eaves. I swear the bathroom window was left open everyday, not because Dad made a stink, but so Mom could yell at me from the TV room door, “Turn it more!” She would yell this as I turned the antenna with my bare hands. If it was wet, they would stick in the winter! It needed to point either southwest toward Kitchener or east-south-east toward Barrie for best reception. I can remember the first time we drove by the CKVR station tower on Ferndale Drive in Barrie and thinking how that was the tiny tower I was always aiming the antennas at.
One Saturday night we went to visit my uncle and aunt’s home where my dad and his twin brother were born. 'Unc' still lived there, raising his family. He and my dad were as close as ever. They came into this world in 1916. Natural twins.
At 8 p.m., it came time to watch the hockey game. In those days, there were six teams with one game per week televised on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. Unc turned a large dial on the TV. It was a remote turner, and before my very eyes I got to see what my mom saw when I turned the antenna by hand: from a snowy picture to clear. We could see the hockey game. The puck had dropped. It was miraculous!
I continued to turn the antenna by hand for years after. No remote for our house. Why when my parents had a sassy, able bodied high school student who needed to earn her keep?
I wanted to watch one of my favourite shows the other day. I sat down with remote in hand, tea beside me, my knitting and a snack. As I hit start, I caught the news reports and was horrified to hear we were back into lockdowns and closures. My heart sank! I watched so carefully, then realized I was watching a recorded program from quite sometime ago. With the push of a button, I fast forwarded through all the news. Old news! Before vaccines, before trucker protests, and before a change in the U.S. government.
What if we treated today’s news like yesterday’s news? And simply remembered that 'this too shall pass'. The media will find something else to cause us consternation.
The days of three or four channels seemed more peaceful and carefree. Maybe over the 40 days of Lent I will take the time to remember there is always a pause button in our lives. Taking the time to rest in the day will remind us, this too shall pass and today’s concerns will become yesterday’s news. The important challenges in life will be tended to. It is the channels, programming and recording of it we can monitor.
Cynthia Breadner is a grief specialist and bereavement counsellor, a soul care worker and offers specialized care in Spiritually Integrated Therapies with special attention as a cognitive behavioral therapy practitioner and trauma incident resolution facilitator. She volunteers at hospice, works as a LTC chaplain and is a death doula, assisting with end-of-life care for client and family. She is the mother part of the #DanCynAdventures duo and practices fitness, health and wellness. She is available remotely by safe and secure video connections, if you have any questions contact her today! [email protected] breakingstibah.com
