The TV in my room

an essay about a recurring old tv show

My memories of Television shows of the past

They say great things grow from a tiny seed. Well my family does any way. Not quite sure where they came up with that, but I’m not sure I buy that. My parents and grandparents always believed there was something good about everyone, but would they say the same about a tv show that was seen on every channel day after day? And if they did what show would they choose to air, if they had that opportunity.

I know my dad would select Lawrence Welk. Because that was the closest thing to the classical music, he and my stepmom used to listen to day after day after day. So, if I was given the choice to choose a show what would it be. That would be tough. There were so many shows, I used to enjoy that are no longer on, so many shows that I would love to see air day after day. All either teaching me a lesson or making me feel like I wanted to belong to the family on the screen.

So when I got to the motel in this tiny town I was ready to relax and watch some tv. The only thing I didn’t know was that the manager of the place selects the shows that are to air in each room for a month, then changing shows. The show selected for my room was little house on the Prairie. A show I used to watch when I was little and always enjoyed.

They were just like me in a sense because they had loving parents and community and always were there for each other. Just. Like. mine. As I sat there though thinking as the show played, how is it for others who don’t have such a family. What do they think and feel and why doesn’t everyone have such a family as mine and the people on the tv? Maybe that was naive of me but I believe everyone should have a loving and supportive family.

I awoke hours later apparently having fallen asleep …. When I looked at the tv again the same show played again, not a different episode as one may see during a marathon, but the same exact show. Was it meant to show me something as the dialog continued, was it a metaphor for something unseen. Was it just luck that I fell asleep during the first showing and had the chance to see it again now that I was awake….

I will never know….