A while ago, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small 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 from then on.
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 good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. 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 the
kitchen for peace and quiet. (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 didn't permit the
liberal use of alcohol. 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 could walk into my parents' 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.
Categorically, he destroyed all the moral values, ethics, love, time for
each other and other good qualities we had in our family…..whilst adding
some unnoticeable quantity of positive stuff also, which any way we would
have had even without him……
His name?.... .. .
.
.
.
.,
,
,
We just call him 'TV.'
(Note: This should be required reading for every household!)
He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'
Their first child is "Cell Phone".
Second child "I Pod"
PLs circulate this if you think this will do some good to our society.....
Nothing will happen even if you do not forward.
The decision is YOURS
From India, Mumbai
158the 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 from then on.
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 good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. 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 the
kitchen for peace and quiet. (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 didn't permit the
liberal use of alcohol. 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 could walk into my parents' 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.
Categorically, he destroyed all the moral values, ethics, love, time for
each other and other good qualities we had in our family…..whilst adding
some unnoticeable quantity of positive stuff also, which any way we would
have had even without him……
His name?.... .. .
.
.
.
.,
,
,
We just call him 'TV.'
(Note: This should be required reading for every household!)
He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'
Their first child is "Cell Phone".
Second child "I Pod"
PLs circulate this if you think this will do some good to our society.....
Nothing will happen even if you do not forward.
The decision is YOURS
From India, Mumbai
Hi, Its very True........? It has spoilt our lifestyle & all of us are so addicted we cant live without it also..... we are cooly allowing them to exploit us Thanks & Regards, Bindiya
From India, Bangalore
From India, Bangalore
Hi Roshni, This is a well know fact. But you have presented it in a different way. We are really addicted to these things. More than anything the "Cell Phone" has taken our life by storm. Good One.
From India, Madras
From India, Madras
Hi Roshni Excellent message for every house hold. I agree with your message by 200%. Thanks for sharing a great message. Yes.As you put it,it is upto us to take it or leave it. AVS
From India, Madras
From India, Madras
Really a good similie. TV or rather idiot box has become a part and parcel of our interpersonal and intrapersonal life. It is a necessary evil and the only way to get intermittent rid of this evil is by streamlining cable connection or any of the dish TV on alternate months rather than on annual basis. I think this experiment can work to fill the gap to be one with self and family.
Regards,
Jatinder Singh
From India, Delhi
Regards,
Jatinder Singh
From India, Delhi
A nice theme .....good!
Idiot box has degraded values & reduced us to becoming couch potatoes .
I recollect , Black & white TV started in Chennai (I lived there ,then)from 15/08/1977. If I remember right only Delhi/Bombay had TV before that period.It was Black & white only.
TV across India started with the intorduction of Colour TV on 19th November 1982 when Asiad commenced & was considered as 'Birthday Gift to Indira Gandhi '.
Also the single National Channel & a regional Channel were like guest who came in the evening & left at night. The cable invasion occured sometime in the early 90's (during war in the gulf which was aired ).
So maybe you can think of a variation in this theme by converting this '50 year ' old know-all to someone who just crossed teenage !
From India, Bangalore
Idiot box has degraded values & reduced us to becoming couch potatoes .
I recollect , Black & white TV started in Chennai (I lived there ,then)from 15/08/1977. If I remember right only Delhi/Bombay had TV before that period.It was Black & white only.
TV across India started with the intorduction of Colour TV on 19th November 1982 when Asiad commenced & was considered as 'Birthday Gift to Indira Gandhi '.
Also the single National Channel & a regional Channel were like guest who came in the evening & left at night. The cable invasion occured sometime in the early 90's (during war in the gulf which was aired ).
So maybe you can think of a variation in this theme by converting this '50 year ' old know-all to someone who just crossed teenage !
From India, Bangalore
Yes, it is true isn't it?! Alas if not monitored it can destroy communication within a family....
What I do find is that the generation that has actively used mobiles ( for texting) watched TV instead of inter acting with friends & classmates, ....the language skills are minimum, they talk & write as though they are automated SMS . A total ignorance of the English language ( or any other language they communicate in) except the gibberish of dis, hand, pos etc etc.I have not a clue what theses mean.
Therefore at a stage when they are working they find it difficult to converse, with minimal inter personal skills. Oh, yes, they can talk business...but it is almost by rote....almost like those cold callers who follow a script but if you ask them a question not on the page they falter & cut off.
Take a look at some of the posts in this forum...makes you want to weep! the lack of clarity, SMS language, poor spelling , punctuation & grammar...Whoa! the list is endless..........
I know of people who get really upset if they cannot watch a TV program due to whatever reason, children who text during meals & keep the mobile next to the bed just in case another message comes through!!
I know ENT specialists who say that earphones with I-pods banging away music at high levels have caused damage to the young listeners...sometimes irreparable.
I have a 9 year old niece who received a pink mobile for Christmas. When out shopping for a dress she used the mobile camera to take photos of herself & transmit it to her group of girl friends so that they could text her their opinion...then she bought a dress!! I couldn't believe this! When did a shopping trip get so complicated & electronic ? I must have been in la-la land.
Unfortunately it is a world wide intrusion illness.....So what is the solution? Any ideas?
From United Arab Emirates, Dubai
What I do find is that the generation that has actively used mobiles ( for texting) watched TV instead of inter acting with friends & classmates, ....the language skills are minimum, they talk & write as though they are automated SMS . A total ignorance of the English language ( or any other language they communicate in) except the gibberish of dis, hand, pos etc etc.I have not a clue what theses mean.
Therefore at a stage when they are working they find it difficult to converse, with minimal inter personal skills. Oh, yes, they can talk business...but it is almost by rote....almost like those cold callers who follow a script but if you ask them a question not on the page they falter & cut off.
Take a look at some of the posts in this forum...makes you want to weep! the lack of clarity, SMS language, poor spelling , punctuation & grammar...Whoa! the list is endless..........
I know of people who get really upset if they cannot watch a TV program due to whatever reason, children who text during meals & keep the mobile next to the bed just in case another message comes through!!
I know ENT specialists who say that earphones with I-pods banging away music at high levels have caused damage to the young listeners...sometimes irreparable.
I have a 9 year old niece who received a pink mobile for Christmas. When out shopping for a dress she used the mobile camera to take photos of herself & transmit it to her group of girl friends so that they could text her their opinion...then she bought a dress!! I couldn't believe this! When did a shopping trip get so complicated & electronic ? I must have been in la-la land.
Unfortunately it is a world wide intrusion illness.....So what is the solution? Any ideas?
From United Arab Emirates, Dubai
Thanks for the comments......
But as the world is coming closer.... the distance between the families getting wider...
Parents want to give their child the best thing... it may be I pod, Mobile, Personal TV in their rooms, or a computer.............
As a parents, we can only monitor them ...
From India, Mumbai
But as the world is coming closer.... the distance between the families getting wider...
Parents want to give their child the best thing... it may be I pod, Mobile, Personal TV in their rooms, or a computer.............
As a parents, we can only monitor them ...
From India, Mumbai
Hi, Roshni.R
In our childhood we are playing the games in field such as cricket, foot ball, and other village games, But now days our children are not playing in playground every children sit in front of Idiot Box .There some advantages and disadvantages of T.V.
it is informative to all but we should use only in limited time only and also to children should not add to it for his life. Thanks for your good posting.
With Regards
Suryanarayana.V.N
From India, Bangalore
In our childhood we are playing the games in field such as cricket, foot ball, and other village games, But now days our children are not playing in playground every children sit in front of Idiot Box .There some advantages and disadvantages of T.V.
it is informative to all but we should use only in limited time only and also to children should not add to it for his life. Thanks for your good posting.
With Regards
Suryanarayana.V.N
From India, Bangalore
Dear Roshni and all
It is a very nice real story for every individual and the family to contemplate and introspect. Thank you for sharing.
Some one asked for a solution !!
The solution is as simple as the TV !
Just switch it off and keep it aside !!
I know, it is not easy. The addiction is so deep that even if you switch it off, you will switch it on without your knowledge.
Some suggestions: One has to determine to do it
1. TV is not bad anyway - it is helping us to know the world at our door step.
2. Let the TV be the entertainer for some time, a guide for some time and a knowledge box for some time.
3. Let us enlarge our horizons of knowledge, communication, by seeing the TV and also let us share what we learnt as good things with our family.
4. We can have a specific time for viewing TV - may be some news, some entertainment serials, some time for discovery channel, national geography and animal planet and sometime for children to have cartoon network.
5. The families can chose to have a time to discuss on daily issues, sit in a different dinning place (if available) with family and have food
5. Have a time for a brief walk after dinner instead of watching TV - this will help to be intimate with family members
6. Parents - spend time with children in the play ground - play shuttle cock, cricket or inside the house like chess, carom, etc., and while they study
7. Chose a good movie to go with family once a way (may be once a month) or even dramas
8. Spend time in listening classical music or even cinema songs
9. spend time in watching stars and the wonderful creation around, birds, treees, flowering plants, movement of clouds, birds chirping in the evening
10. There is so much of life around and we need not feel bad and brood over that TV is killing our relations.
It is we who have to understand and determine to enjoy life more and not think that our life is only TV; There is lot more to live and experience. We can definitely decide to show the TV, its place and we can be more loving, more lovable, more human, and make our life more fulfilling.
I hope all will try at least 5% to overcome the addition not only of TV but of anything and improve their life !!
Wishing you all a more enjoyable life ahead !!
Regards
K.Ramachandra
Bangalore
It is a very nice real story for every individual and the family to contemplate and introspect. Thank you for sharing.
Some one asked for a solution !!
The solution is as simple as the TV !
Just switch it off and keep it aside !!
I know, it is not easy. The addiction is so deep that even if you switch it off, you will switch it on without your knowledge.
Some suggestions: One has to determine to do it
1. TV is not bad anyway - it is helping us to know the world at our door step.
2. Let the TV be the entertainer for some time, a guide for some time and a knowledge box for some time.
3. Let us enlarge our horizons of knowledge, communication, by seeing the TV and also let us share what we learnt as good things with our family.
4. We can have a specific time for viewing TV - may be some news, some entertainment serials, some time for discovery channel, national geography and animal planet and sometime for children to have cartoon network.
5. The families can chose to have a time to discuss on daily issues, sit in a different dinning place (if available) with family and have food
5. Have a time for a brief walk after dinner instead of watching TV - this will help to be intimate with family members
6. Parents - spend time with children in the play ground - play shuttle cock, cricket or inside the house like chess, carom, etc., and while they study
7. Chose a good movie to go with family once a way (may be once a month) or even dramas
8. Spend time in listening classical music or even cinema songs
9. spend time in watching stars and the wonderful creation around, birds, treees, flowering plants, movement of clouds, birds chirping in the evening
10. There is so much of life around and we need not feel bad and brood over that TV is killing our relations.
It is we who have to understand and determine to enjoy life more and not think that our life is only TV; There is lot more to live and experience. We can definitely decide to show the TV, its place and we can be more loving, more lovable, more human, and make our life more fulfilling.
I hope all will try at least 5% to overcome the addition not only of TV but of anything and improve their life !!
Wishing you all a more enjoyable life ahead !!
Regards
K.Ramachandra
Bangalore
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