By Lula Anderson
Another week gone by and I am totally frazzled. There is so much to do before the Holidays that I can’t keep up. Cookie Walk, church services, Holiday luncheons, shopping, decorating…….I don’t decorate much any more. It doesn’t pay when you’re the only one in the house, but Judy did find a small, decorated tree for me when she was cleaning out her decorations at her other house. Perfect, take it out of the box, fluff it and sit back and enjoy. It was already decorated, but it only had one leg to stand on. Since beggars can’t be choosers, I put it in a flower pot and all is well.The snow that we got makes it look a lot like Christmas. A group of about 20 were at our Senior Center making wreaths and decorating our room for our Holiday luncheon. The rain on Sunday kept some away, and I left early but the work got done and we are all set up with centerpieces and decorations. The “crew” was in the ambulance bay with the doors open and someone stopped and asked when we were going to be finished as she wanted to purchase one. Thanks for the compliment, but it takes so long to make one, we are selfish and want to keep them for ourselves.
Sorry about you all missing last week’s column. The internet is a tricky thing, and I guess I had problems last week that I didn’t notice in time to resend. That’s what happens when one tries to multitask.
All churches are gathering items to deliver to shut-ins. If you know of someone who needs some Holiday Cheer, let us know. Or if you want to give, we will accept donations. Some items needed are hats, socks, gloves, gift bags, small prepacked goodies such as cheese and crackers, small cakes and cookies, pudding, jello, snack sized anything. A friend gives her Dad baskets of things like Honey Buns, individual applesauce, baggies of donut holes, and cookies to brighten his day. You’d be surprised how small things like that bring big pleasure to the elderly.
Prayers for the family of Don Pickett. Service was at Hunter Mountain on Sunday and it was a full house.
Prayers for Nettie Brink, Jack Jordan, David Sherman, Opal, Jack and Joan Gates and Billy Matthews.
AS I REMEMBER IT
The evenings pass slowly for me as I sit alone in my room watching TV, dozing and doing a lot of thinking. News stories pass in and our of my consciousness, and they bring back memories of things and people that used to be prevalent in our lives. One of the stories that got me to thinking was the passing of Norman Lear. I’m sure many young people don’t remember the name, but he was one of the big pioneers of modern television shows.
For us old folks, we remember the coming of tv into our homes. Red Bailey had one of the first televisions in his window of his shop and people really did gather around it to watch this great marvel. When we finally got our television, we tried hooking up the indoor antenna, or rabbit ears, covered them with aluminum foil and prayed for reception. As we always had to adjust them, they soon broke and we resorted to a coat hanger . There were three local channels: 6, 10 and 13. Not everyone got them, nor did you get them all the time. Big news when we got our first outdoor antenna. If it was pointed in one direction we got channel 6, and another gave us 10. Someone would have to go outside while someone was inside with the window open, hollering and calling stop there, no go back. A little to the left , now turn it, Then the wind would blow and you’d have to start again. The attic was a great place to put an antenna. Wires ran throughout the house to connect to our single, black and white television in the Livingroom.
My mother had two soap operas that she watched faithfully. DO NOT DISTURB her during that hour!!! It was the time before we got home from school when daily chores were done, and it wasn’t time to start supper. The characters were a part of her life and friends got together to discuss what Laura was up to or do you think they’ll really get married this time?
Evening shows were usually variety shows. How many remember the Perry Como show and how they set the table for Thanksgiving dinner? The June Taylor dancers were wonderful, then came color and they were absolutely fantastic.
So, back to Norman Lear. He produced numerous sitcoms in the ‘70s but probably his most groundbreaking was “All in the Family”. Do you know that the first time we heard a toilet flushing was when “MeatHead” was upstairs and they called him. He introduced us to his neighbors, The Jeffersons, and to his cousin Maude. Archie was a biggot everyone loved to hate. We couldn’t wait for the day and time to come to watch what was going to happen this week. We sat through commercials, and didn’t have pause for bathroom and snack breaks. We watched as a family and discussed the shows afterwards.
Now everyone “streams” their shows. We have hundreds of channels to watch, and so many shows and movies to chose from. Do you want to watch The Golden Girls? Just turn it on – no commercials on premium. Just veg out by the hour. But, thank you, Norman for your innovation insight to the “Great Wasteland."
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