Living in Cook County, it wasn't necessary to have cable for my parents to feed their significant Bears and Bulls addiction. We could watch Payton, Hampton, Singletary, Dent, The Fridge, Pippen, Jordan, and Armstrong with ease. We would compare and contrast the different coaching styles of Ditka and Jackson. In the 80's and 90's, our world and TV, revolved around these two teams.
When Princess Diana died, in 1997, I am sure we had cable, as we watched CNN for days.
Now, as an adult and home-owner myself, I still do not have cable. Initially, it was because I had no money. I had no food. People at work would say, "Oh my gosh, you look great. You have lost weight." Little did they know, I was starving to death. I was surviving on a case of tuna and a bag of grapefruit.
During that time (my lean years) I did four things.
1) I joined the local public library.
I began reading and, for the first time, enjoyed it. Memoirs, written by authors or journalists, are my favorites. They are based on one's version of the truth, not necessarily fact-checked, but well-written nonetheless.
2) I had a house-warming party for myself.
I had many friends who wanted to come to see my new place. I knew I would wind up with plants and candles, whereas I needed staples for basic survival. I assigned everyone an inexpensive item to bring such as a can opener, corkscrew, wooden spoon, etc., and asked them to bring a canned or dry good. It was life-saving. I received all sorts of needed supplies, and boxes of cereal, tubs of peanut butter, bags of snacks, and packets of ramen.
I began reading and, for the first time, enjoyed it. Memoirs, written by authors or journalists, are my favorites. They are based on one's version of the truth, not necessarily fact-checked, but well-written nonetheless.
2) I had a house-warming party for myself.
I had many friends who wanted to come to see my new place. I knew I would wind up with plants and candles, whereas I needed staples for basic survival. I assigned everyone an inexpensive item to bring such as a can opener, corkscrew, wooden spoon, etc., and asked them to bring a canned or dry good. It was life-saving. I received all sorts of needed supplies, and boxes of cereal, tubs of peanut butter, bags of snacks, and packets of ramen.
3) I met the girl upstairs. She had just moved in and was looking for a phone to use. This being years before cell phones, I made her a deal, help me haul my laundry upstairs, I'll let you use my phone.
We became fast friends. Many nights we would combine kitchens. I would bring what was in my pantry, she hers. We would make meals out of a can of black olives, artichokes, black beans, and frozen tortellini. Twenty-five years later, we are still friends. She is my physician, friend, and sounding board. We have shared stories of joys, heart-break, grant writing, and office fodder.
4) During this lean time, I started traveling one weekend a month. Out of all the things I've ever done in my life, it remains one of the dearest to me.
First Things First - going out of town
Shortly after getting engaged, my spouse and I bought a house and moved in. Four months later my sister and her betrothed bought the house next door. I married a public radio fan, triathlete, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. My sister married someone tech-savvy and creative who can discuss film, make a mean pulled pork, and worships the Pittsburgh Steelers. Between the two of us, we had five children in four years. They have cable. We don't.
When we had a two-year-old and three infants, I would pick up my daughter after work from my sister's. We would nurse our babies and watch Trading Spaces on TLC. I would then go home and get something together for dinner, give a bath, perhaps work on a crossword puzzle or read, and then go to bed.
Trading Spaces was in its' infancy. It was Season 1 with a host named Alex. Sometime during our hormonal afternoons or sleep-interrupted nights, my sister wrote an application to TLC. Around Labor Day 2001, we got word that a scout was coming out to interview us and check out our spaces. It was time to tell my husband. Long story short, it was not my finest married moment.
The scout came out and interviewed all four of us, my sister, her husband, my spouse and me, and measured our rooms. Someone was to get back to us within the next couple of weeks. Well, on September 11, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon and still another crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Everything came to a halt and the world stood still. We never heard back.
Several weeks later, my sister called TLC to let them know that a courtesy call would have been nice. There was momentary silence on the other end before the person said, "No one called you? Everyone shows up at your house on Sunday." Thus begins my cable TV - 15 minutes of fame - story.
A decade after Trading Spaces went off the air, HGTV, the network that took over mid-way through its running, decided to air new episodes. In preparation for the revised show, they aired reruns from the original. On April 23, 2018, I was sitting around playing Trouble and Euchre with a friend from Madison and my kids, when my phone started beeping and lighting up. I was getting text messages, Facebook notices, calls and emails. HGTV had rerun the episode with my family filmed 17 years ago.
Some people, who had known me for years, were finding out for the first time. It was a flurry of communications, questions, and kind ribbing. Now, once again, it has subsided. I brought it up today as I am clearing out old cell phone messages and texts.
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