A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our
small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this
enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family.
The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the
world a few months later. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in
my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche.
My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me the word of God,
and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger He was our storyteller. He would
keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always
knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able
to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball
game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing
each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to her room and
read her books (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger
never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed
in our home... not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor,
however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.
My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in the home, not even for
cooking. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He
made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked
freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant,
sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced
strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my
parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our
family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he
was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's den today, you
would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him
talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?.... We just call him, "TV."
He has a younger sister now. We call her, "computer."
small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this
enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family.
The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the
world a few months later. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in
my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche.
My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me the word of God,
and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger He was our storyteller. He would
keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always
knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able
to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball
game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing
each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to her room and
read her books (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger
never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed
in our home... not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor,
however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.
My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in the home, not even for
cooking. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He
made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked
freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant,
sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced
strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my
parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our
family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he
was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's den today, you
would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him
talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?.... We just call him, "TV."
He has a younger sister now. We call her, "computer."
