Television

 Does anyone else want to go back to this?

I am thinking I'd be much happier with 3 VHF channels and a few UHF choices.

Having to get up from the couch to turn the channel wasn't that much of a chore,

and sometimes far easier than finding the remote...or finding batteries for the remote...or even getting the remote open to put in the batteries once they are located.

Oh, and don't get me started on how you navigate from the start screen to whatever you want to view...

....and for most of us, once the equipment was paid for, it was free!

None of this monthly fee stuff.

....and those fees? $40, $70, and more for a basic service that offers a gazillion viewing options;

10 on channels you recognize and might enjoy, 24 in different languages - great if you want to try to learn by immersion, 23 if you want to shop for things you didn't know you wanted, 75 more if you want to watch just about any sort of sport - including professional corn hole....

it's limitless! 

Then there are the add-on fees for movies, or sports you want to watch, or British TV, or Disney channels....yada, yada, yada...

Trying to figure out what TV plans are best for you, and what add-ons to get, and what services duplicate options provided by others is a science by itself. Wading through all of that really makes my head hurt. Frankly, I just don't understand it all. There are people who make a living by helping people determine which insurance plans are best for supplemental coverage for us old folks. Maybe someone should begin a service of going into homes and helping oldsters select the best TV plans for their budgets and viewing interests, and getting their TVs set up for viewing. Now, there's an idea!! I had a fleeting thought of approaching my son with this entrepreneurial idea...but he might be as lost as we are. He doesn't watch TV! He wouldn't be much help at all! 

We finally broke down and subscribed to Youtube TV last year so we could watch over the air shows....while spending a lot of money each month! Periodically we experience some sort of cosmic blip that tells YouTube that we live in Miami. Sure, we can watch Miami news and weather. But the news and weather there is a far cry from that in the Tampa area. The weekly line up of shows is different than what we normally watch in our area. Each time this cosmic blip happens it takes me at least an hour to climb through the AI branches before I convince something, somewhere that we actually do live here, and want to view shows in this area. It makes me so angry/helpless that I sometimes want to throw the remote at the TV.

It leaves me so frustrated....I just want my 25" TV, commanding space on the entire deep shelf of our cabinet, where I get out of my chair to turn it on and change the stations. Do you think it might work if I tap my heels together, scrunch my eyes shut and repeat:

"I want to go back, I want to go back, I want to go back?!"

Ah, wishful thinking and memories of simpler times!