It was a bitter sweet good-bye.
When I was a child I would never forget running down to the "shed" and or the old house. It would be creepy scary, but exciting and fun. There would be the mystery of an animal being behind something when you were going through the old dusty boxes. One day I recall coming across some eight track tapes, they were so big and bulky compared to our then current source of listening to music cassette tapes. Regardless, I still found them interesting. I thought they may be a video game perhaps, so I had to ask what they were. When I found out I so desperately wished I had a player to put them in so, I could hear how they sounded. I was in that shed until dusk going through every box hoping to find the player. I always had so much fun going through those boxes. It had such an impact on me that I made a mental note for my future. When you keep something that is surpassed, but a new piece of technology make sure to keep the instrument used to play it. I have a tape player for the tapes. I kept the VHS tapes and player, so if anyone is ever lurking through my old boxes I can only hope they are interested enough to try them out.
This brings me to the good-bye of my television. It was so much more than a T.V. My uncle died when I was 16 and he left this and the entire entertainment center that went with it to me. I could not get it until I graduated high school, but it was going to be mine to keep. This would be 16 years ago. In prospective that is half of my life. Over the years I have shed the pieces of the set one by one. I thought about him and the "collection" every time I let part of it go.
It was first the shelf it was placed in, it had spilt wax, cat scratches and couldn't bare another move. Then it was all the equalizer and some other items that I was not even sure how to fully utilize. Then there was no need for the speakers and they looked pretty bad. Needless to say they weren't serving me any purpose and were not being used at all. Finally it was the 5-Disk cd player as now we plug in our phones/ipod for that. Then there was the switch to DVD vs VHS. However, that is the VHS player in my dusty old boxes with the movies.
This now brings me to that tragic day. I went to turn the television on and it just did not work. I can not lie and say I did not know it was coming. I had spend months pretending that the color had not changed and that it seemed like sometimes it would come on and then sometimes it would not. You know give it the pat on the side, sake or jiggle of the wires and it we were good to go. Then there was the day it was just off. I was sad. I refused to purchase a new one to replace it. Silly right, it is just an old television. That is what some would say, but it was much more to me. This T.V. had actually been through what I hope to be some of the hardest years of my life. I would love for my Uncle to be around, so we could laugh about this T.V. He would think it was crazy that I still had it, this I know for sure. He like to keep up with the newest forms of technology.
I decided to recycle the T.V. There was no way in hell I was going to put it by the dumpster or leave it on a curb someplace. I got another one from Jason that was stored out in his families dusty garage, kind of funny to see even all these years later the older electronics are still finding themselves sitting in a back corner somewhere collecting dust. Items may actually change, become fancier, newer and more advanced, but people they still work the same.
I then went on to win this flashy flat screen at my company Christmas Party. I never win anything and I could not have been more excited. I have a feeling this one will not last near as long as my first one, but I hope it does. I really enjoy the clarity of the picture when watching sports. I am sure my uncle is watching over me and very happy that I have this new addition.
Out with the old, in with the new, but majorly embracing the present
Recycle, Donate, Memories, Winning, Letting go and oh yes the use of the product Entertainment!
Do you have something old, replaced, sitting in the back and collecting dust?
