Control

When I was a child, we had three channels - ABC, CBS, and NBC - and only one came in really well. There was no cable. There was only an antenna that my dad had hooked up to a rotor that allowed him to turn it from the comfort of the living room. As long as there weren't any storms, you didn't have to tweak the rotor too frequently. And as far as channel surfing went, that only happened when one of us kids were in the room.

Yes early romote controls were your children. I was guilty occasionally also. The TVs I had when my kids were little had knobs also. And the kids would argue to change the channel. "I can do it!" "No, it's my turn!" They turned the channels a little fast so I didn't ask them to do it too often - I was afraid the knob would break.

Then the remote control was invented. It made changing channels way too easy -- just ask anyone who has had to sit next to a person who can surf at the speed of light. My current remote is very intimidating. And since it controls more than just the TV you have to be careful. And, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I fully understand how to work it yet. But I can do the things that I typically need to do.

Someday my grandchildren will be on my knee and saying "No way Grammy, you had to walk over to the TV to change the channels?" And then I'll launch into the story about walking to school, uphill, for a few miles in the snow every day.