Ricardo Montalban was My father and Julia Child was My Mother

I am the product of the television. Just as millennials are the product of the internet.  It was not uncommon for my generation to be placed in front of the TV daily and told to stay there. The TV was a babysitter for many of us. A time when parents could walk away and have a few moments of peace thanks to the radiation box. 

I drove the helm of channels to watch since none else was around. There weren't that many to choose from unless you swiped the neighbors cable. I was oddly attracted to the odd channels and PBS. I enjoyed watching Julia Child and Wan Can Cook. There was also the Electric Company and Great Plays. I was first introduced to my favorite writer not from books but from the reenactments on public broadcasting. 

I had a set schedule (this was of course before the DVR). In the morning while getting ready for school it was old shows like Sea Hunt and Lone Ranger. When I came home form school it was Julia Child and Richard Simmons. Saturdays it was a barrage of tv. Starting the morning with cartoons rolling into the afternoon with Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan. Then late afternoon with some god awful 70’s flick. After dinner came prime time. When I was younger that meant Lawrence Welk and Hee Haw. When I was a little older it was a variety of sitcoms and dramas. But no matter what then it was finished off with a late night movie. Sunday was church and then some disney movie. 

I fully admit to my dark addiction. Often I have been observed as becoming a zombie. Some people even hate watching tv with me, especially if its a crime drama. I can often tell you who the killer is before they reveal it. Not because I am some super sleuth. It is because I know the formula they use in most shows. If you haven’t figured it out, television shows are for the most based on basic formulas to help the viewer move along the story line. So once you start seeing the pattern you can predict who is the murder or who will be eliminated next. 

Today with internet and the DVR it is easier to go down the rabbit hole.