Confessions of a simpleHome Employee
Posted by Judy Rapa on Wed, Jul 15, 2009 @ 10:45 AM
I have a confession to make. I still own an analog TV. It is a 4 inch black and white SONY Watchman complete with tin foil on the antenna. They were all the rage in the early 90's. Some of you may even remember them. It was my Mother's Day present in 1991 and holds great sentimental value. This old friend had sat on my kitchen counter for the past 18 years. When my children were young and watching Sesame Street in the family room, I could get my fix of The Today Show every morning and The NBC Nightly News every evening without exposing them to the horrors of the daily news. Once they were teenagers, I could watch the news without being exposed to the horrors of their reality TV shows playing in the other rooms. My Watchman had been my companion through good times and bad and it still worked perfectly well - except for the obvious problem - no audio and no video. I heard rumors that the end was near, but I chose to ignore the warning signs by thinking that President Obama would keep postponing the cutover - forever. My hopes were dashed when on June 12, 2009 my little analog friend became a victim to the digital age. I later found out that I am not alone. My neighbor Beth was using the same wishful thinking strategy for her bedroom TV. Perhaps I should form a support group for those of us in denial - Analog Anonymous anyone?
Now you can only imagine the reactions my high-tech simpleHome colleagues had to my latest low-tech announcement. They seem to have barely recovered from the fact that when I first came to work here I did not own a DVR box or a GPS. (I have since then acquired both thank you very much and my life has been greatly enhanced.) No, this response was far more dramatic. It went something like this: "BLACK AND WHITE! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! (chuckling) ....HOW BIG?! (louder chuckling), HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF CABLE?! (knee slapping)...TINFOIL??!!! (hysterical laughter). Then there was the joke email sent around the office on cutover weekend. I laughed along with the gang and tried to put up a brave face in spite of my loss.
As it turns out, my story does have a happy, albeit bittersweet ending. After the teasing subsided, my colleagues rallied around me - pointing out that I work at simpleHome, the place dedicated to making life simple, fun, and easy! Thanks to them, I now have a sleek-flip up and down-color-cable connected television mounted under my kitchen cabinet. I have modernized my 1980's vintage kitchen by bringing it into the digital age. Now if I could just get rid of those darn white Formica counter tops. I will always have fond memories of my Sony Watchman and the time we spent together, but I have to admit that Matt Lauer and Brian Williams really do look even better in color!
