TV or not TV?

Here is an article on a subject that I am quite passionate about...television. It was written by Lee Reinsch of the Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) Reporter. A quote:

Cable TV made a West Bend man addicted to TV, caused his wife to be overweight and his kids to be lazy, he says.

And he’s threatening to sue the cable company.

Timothy Dumouchel of West Bend wants $5,000 or three computers, and a lifetime supply of free Internet service from Charter Communications to settle what he says will be a small claims suit.

Dumouchel blames Charter for his TV addiction, his wife’s 50-pound weight gain and his children’s being “lazy channel surfers,” according to a Fond du Lac police report.

I can relate to this gentleman's predicament, being a recovering television addict myself. It was around 1990 when I first tried to kick the habit. I sold my color TV to a co-worker, but kept my really neat combination-alarm-clock-radio-5-inch-black-and-white TV. Well, after spending every spare moment for the entire two weeks of the Winter Olympics flat on my back with my eyes glued to that gadget, I gave up and bought a new full size color TV.

My next attempt was in 2002 when I moved into my current apartment. The very large TV which entertained the late great Uncle Dan and I for several years was among the 75% of our stuff that I got rid of when he died (that story I'll save for another time).

For six months I was TV-less, until one day for some reason I had an overwhelming desire to watch Friends again (everybody sing it..."I'll be there for you"). I rushed out and bought a small TV/VCR combo for $90, watched the three channels that would come in with the rabbit ear antenna, then sold it two months later for $50 (ouch).

I have been "on the wagon" for almost a year now. I still watch TV occasionally at other people's homes, and am dancing on the edge of a replacement addiction to rented DVD movies (I play them on my computer). But I have no desire to own a TV again.

Aunt Judie's unsolicited advice to Mr. Dumouchel of West Bend, Wisconsin:

Go cold turkey. Pull the plugs and get rid of all the TVs. Rearrange your furniture so that it is not pointed towards the empty space where the tube used to be. And please, for your own good, drop the lawsuit. The cable company did not come to your home, chain you to your chair and duct-tape the remote control to your hand. Taking responsibility for your problem is the first step to overcoming it.