The extra evening light of spring means more time outside, either in the garden or the shop. This is great because I am not a TV person, and an early evening inside means contending with the TV. I don’t hate TV; it’s just that I left my TV habit behind many years ago. Being on the road, I was seldom around to catch the shows more settled people watched. Working in coffeehouses and bars meant performing, not watching TV. And after that, I was, believe it or not, too poor in the seventies to own my own TV. I’ve missed generations of television tropes, can’t recognize most TV stars, and don’t miss it. No habit.
Television did appear in my home in the 1980s for my wife and kids. Ask me what I watched those years, and I’d have to say lots of Sesame Street and Fred Rodgers.
A few friends started discussing streaming services the other day. Which do you have? I had to admit that I thought we had Netflix but no others. ” But how do you watch———-?” My “huh?” told them all they needed to know about my television habits—they don’t exist, and I am a total washout when it comes to contemporary culture. If stuck inside during a weekend, I am most likely working on the computer or reading a book.
On occasion, I’ll watch a documentary, or if my wife is watching old stuff on Netflix, I might watch an episode of NCIS with her. But in general, I am not interested in TV. This time of year, I am too busy clearing the wind-blown branches from the garden and finishing winter-interrupted projects in the shop.
One advantage of working outside rather than sitting inside is that I’ve slenderized—four pounds off the waist. Virtue is its own reward!
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Good for you! It seems everything people watch comes as an extra cost subscription on one network or another. I limit myself to public television (but can’t watch some favorites any longer because they’ve been bumped up to a pay extra premium version) and Spectrum’s slightly best lineup (where any of the really good stuff is bumped up to the next level at another extra cost). Those I stream over Wi-Fi on Roku tv that let me drop cable and that extra cost. As for the greedy providers of streamable programming, the more the charge for things, the more they help me reduce my television time because I refuse to pay for any premium services beyond what I have. I follow a few things on five channels out of seemingly thousands available to me that are packaged with what I get. What a waste!
I know people who seem to have every streaming service. I don’t know how they afford it, or how the keep up with it all.
Me either. There’s too much content available.
And most of the content is not that good.
No. Grifting preachers, sports I don’t follow, QVC, reruns of old comedies, and much less….
We have zero streaming services. I cannot imagine watching that much TV! Or being able to afford it–it ain’t cheap.
Very true. I wonder haow people affors it.
I barely know how to turn on the tele these days. I watch it in bursts but it serves mostly to put me to sleep.
Yeah ours has three remotes. My wife does all the selection. I may know how to turn it off after she goes to bed.
3! Third time lucky, eh?
How’d you guess?
I confess, we do watch a fair amount of tv, mostly because our adult son lives with us, and he is subscribed to… oh, at least six streaming services, I think. He picks what we watch usually. The prompt was about watching 5 or more times??? I cannot imagine that.
I’m like you, I’d rather be outside doing garden stuff or reading.
I do admit we have two streaming services and a bit of cable but I can only watch one show at a time, by which I mean if I choose a show I have to watch every episode until there are no more before I can switch. And I can NOT abide the reality show drivel that all my friends seem to find so entertaining. Nope, not getting involved.
As soon as this snow melts I’ll be working outside.
Maple syrup season here in New England, and I’m too busy boiling sap for TV. Good luck getting rid of the snow!