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Gene Autry only kissed his horse. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced their way to romance. Bogie showed Ingrid Bergman how much he loved her by sending her away.
I was fascinated by the movies of the 1930’s and 1940’s. I frequently battled with my brothers over the color television set, because the ballgames were in color, and my movies were in black-and-white.
Watching musicals and romantic comedies over and over again, I learned how to kiss by watching love scenes with Cary Grant, Gary Cooper and Gene Kelly.
After the kiss, the camera would pan to the moon …
What is your favorite romantic movie classic to watch this Valentine’s Day?
As we move into the digital television era, I’ve been thinking about the old black-and-white TV my family had. It had to warm up for a few minutes before coming on. When you turned it off, the screen would slowly fade, getting smaller and smaller, until it became a tiny white dot, and then completely disappeared. There were several glass tubes in the back that would periodically blow and would have to be replaced.
I had a skateboard which I absolutely loved, and was very adept at riding, including down our very steep driveway. One birthday, I was given a wood burning set, which I immediately used to write my name on the skateboard, and anything else I could think of. When I ran out of space, I looked around the yard and the street, for pieces of wood to release my creativity. Having run out of places, I realized the back of the television set was wooden and I could write something on it. Since it was on the back, no one would know.
Until a tube burned out.
My dad took one look at my creative drawing, and good-bye wood burning set.
What do you remember about the old television sets?
