Archive for June 12th, 2009

Tomorrow and Sunday Fort Worthians (and Dallasites if they’re so inclined) will have the opportunity to tour six private gardens in the Ridgelea area of Fort Worth.

It’s a fundraiser for Historic Fort Worth, which works to protect historic structures and promote historic preservation here in the City.

You’ll see hidden lakes, fountains, pools, waterfowl, local and exotic plants and trees, and the exterior of some lovely homes as well.

If you’re a gardener, a supporter of Fort Worth historic preservation, or just one of the “Lookie-Loos” you’ll enjoy this 1-2 hour self-guided tour of local gardens.

Hidden Gardens of Fort Worth Review and more details

Back when I was a kid, we used to lie around every afternoon after school, watching Speed Racer, Giligan’s Island, Star Trek, and Adam-5 on TV. It wasn’t as good as the movies, but it was something to do. And it was free. TV didn’t cost anything, that was part of the argument in its favor.

Ther were a lot of ads for breakfast cereal, beer, and plastic toys on TV, but my parents told me the ads were for people who could be influenced to buy things that weren’t good for kids and which they didn’t need, which didn’t include us.  As I grew older, it did seem that TV promoted almost exclusively discretionary, low-utility items. Which means, stuff that you didn’t need, that wouldn’t help you if you did buy it.

Now, according to Yahoo News, today is the day that analog (antena) TV service will finally be cut off to those who don’t have cable.  Since we don’t have cable, this means we will no longer have access to TV signals over the TV.

This family’s response, however, is a collective yawn. That’s because, truth to tell, we haven’t watched TV in years. Literally. Last time we watched TV was when  someone rigged up an antenae in 2005 so we could watch Benedict XVI come out of the papal conclave and declare that, while he felt he was unworthy for the job of Pope,  he would give it a spin anyway.

That afternoon four years ago was before we figured out you could watch important broadcasts, such as presidential debates and my son’s favorite situation comedy, The Office, on the computer for free.  Provided you pay for DSL servics through AT&T.

The exile of regular TV broadcasting from my home was one of the most successful coups of my mom-administration.  The TV died and I never replaced it. The kids were young back then, they weren’t very good ad arguing and in truth, they didn’t care much.  We started watching videos (back then they were VHS) instead. Since our weekly diet of video entertainment was less than 5 hours, and we liked things that genrally weren’t broadcast (feature moves) no one ever really wanted to get the TV reconnected and thus it stayed for the next 15 years.

As they’ve gotten older, the kids have occassionally asked about this. Generally they say something along the lines of “Why can’t we be like everyone else?”

“We are not everyone else.”

And we’re not. Along with the lack of TV, we are largely out of touch with a huge host of products, including sweetened drinks and snack foods, that I think are bad for children. My kids all have healthy weight. Coincidence? Maybe not.

Today, at our local elementary schools I see a lot of overweight kids. If I could tell their parents anything, I would say to get rid of television. But I’d be thought of as insane, or at least unrealistic. So when I hear they’re not going to have TV broadcast, I’m actually encouraged.  Because the TV has promoted a sedentary lifestyle as well as a lot of very bad products very widely.  I’m not sure it’s actually been good for America.