#KEEP IT SIMPLE AND STUPID TV#

Are they just wiser than I, or is it just easier to not use KISS in today’s world? But over the years I wonder if we have bought into getting more stuff and doing more things.Īll my kids and their families are light years ahead of where I was at their age. When my wife Mary Jean and I were younger we lived fairly simple. I don’t remember anyone I knew that had more than needed or anything that made them a slave to a possession. We had all that we needed, but not much extra. But thinking it over, we had one car, and no toys such as boats, four-wheelers and the like. I wonder how far that would go today to support a household. My Dad was one of the highest at $125 per week. A flashback reminds me of being in the third grade and talking and bragging to my friends about how much money our dad’s made. Dad went to work and farmed, and he was the only source of income. My grandmother lived next door to us, and I remember staying there in the summer occasionally, but for the most part we were with mom.

#KEEP IT SIMPLE AND STUPID TV#

We had three channels we watched from a black and white TV set, and it was free. We didn’t have 150-plus channels and pay per views or a $125 or so cable or satellite bill to pay. Like the joke says, if the president had an ,we were screwed as it was broadcast over all the channels. It was always the kids’ job to change it to one of the other two channels. The fourth channel came when I was a young teenager when we got WXIX out of Cincinnati and the wonderful Larry Smith Puppet Show. We had three channels with only one set for the entire house. We ate around the kitchen table all together most every night.

There weren’t a lot of times spent eating out either. There were no traveling teams or activities that kept us away from home. The only rule was when it got dark, we had better be home. Yes, it was a much safer time for kids as we left in the morning. Best I remember, other than that, my time was spent at home. In the wintertime I did Cub Scouts for a few years. I absolutely loved baseball - games twice a week and practice on Saturday. And I don’t remember having one every year up until adulthood. I was 9-10 years old, and my parents allowed me to invite a dozen or so of my friends over for a party. I still have the picture buried in a box somewhere. More of this is how it was, and we all seemed OK with it. This is not an attack as to how bad I had it. I also knew a lot of kids that seemed to live about the same. But it makes you wonder if we have all just gotten so smart that we traded intelligence for common sense.Īs I have said many times, I grew up in a very nice home and had most of whatever I needed to be happy and healthy. Who wouldn’t want that? Does anyone else but me feel that we have made our lives and our children’s lives more complex than they were ever intended to be? I sure hope this doesn’t sound like another old geezer story about how wrong the world is now. It goes without saying that there is nothing wrong with making a good thing better. We have all heard about using the KISS method, most commonly known as “Keep It Simple Stupid.” It’s very easy to recall when we see someone else violating this sacred rule, but I am not always sure we recognize the fact that maybe, just maybe, we are ourselves in violation often.

Keep it simple and stupid