September 2003

No TV Make Grandpa Something…Something

This week, just before the hurricane swept in and out of our lives, I cancelled our cable subscription. It is the beginning of a six-month experiment in which Bigfoot and I are taking part in coordination with the Evil Robots Research Center for An Alternative Reality. We are trying to see what happens when a married couple gets rid of their cable tee-vee. It's completely scientific.

The people at Comcast were buggin' because I am not moving or getting tee-vee in another format. I said that we did not want cable any more, period. There was not a classification for that in the computer. Later in the week, they called me to ask again why we cancelled our service. Again, I told them that we no longer wanted their service. The lady didn't get it. Hell, I didn't get it. I still don't GET it. All I'm doing is cutting myself off from the world of short attention spans and Fox'News'. Can that be bad?

My wife, Bigfoot, often bemoaned our having cable. While she loves many of the shows on cable tee-vee, she hated that we used the tee-vee as a default every damn day. There was always something on, something to watch while we sank into the couch. Even sitting next to each other, we were not always watching together. It riled her. I felt it as well, but I loved tee-vee too much to admit she was right.

Being blunt, I thought the best way to remedy the situation was to get rid of the cable tee-vee altogether. That's exactly what I did. Thankfully, the Research Center for An Alternative Reality offered us a research grant. All we have to do is report to you guys about what we're doing with our new-found time and freedom.

Of course, Bigfoot says that I did not have to agree to this, but she's just saying that. She is totally behind me 100%, and she thinks we can think of plenty of stuff to do to each other. I can think of two things, but she is imaginative one in the family.

Also be sure to read Bigfoot's thoughts on the matter.