open air orgies

mr. proudhon.

I hate t.v. I was born in 1982, so TV has always been around me. Even though I am not that old, most of my memories were from all of the neighborhood kids playing sports. Tag football, baseball, anything. We could not throw our backpacks inside fast enough so that we could take off on our bikes to go play. Now, my wife and I have been without a TV for almost 2 years now every since our daughter was born and we love it. We rent movies from netflix and watch them after our daughter has gone to bed. We are very stressed though because it seems like we are up against the world. Both my wife and I's families are heavy TV watchers and give us a hard time about not having the TV on when we visit. It is like pulling teeth. Both this subject and not feeding our daughter junk has driven a wedge in our relationships with our families since she was born. I could say so much about the positive aspects of getting rid of TV but there simply isn't enough space. People now are drones who waste hours in front of a TV to watch shows they have to see, only to not remember what the show was about a week later. It's crazy. Instead of watching TV when we are together, my wife, kid, and I role around and play, take stroller rides,read books, and just learn. We walk around the house and teach her what random items are like an iron or the blinds to windows. And what a suprise, at 16 months, she knows so much. Her favorite things in the world are books, as opposed to my cousin's 3 year old who only wants TV show dvd's and carries around doritoes bags stuffing himself. Oh.. I need to stop. If there is anybody reading this that is on the fence, dump the TV, you won't regret it. Thanks..

Mike, age 28, from Georgia

For several years in my early 20's that I lived without TV with the exception of occasional movies. At that time I now realize I was more creative and had a lot of time on my hands to do what I needed to. My attention span could last longer too. Now that I am married and watch TV a lot with my husband in the evenings I am very forgetful and unmotivated. I want to spend time with him but he doesn't want to turn off the television and as long as its on it draws my attention too.

Brandi age 30 from TX

My great-grandfather was born in the 1880's in Southampton in England. He joined the British army as a teenager and was sent to Canada, where he got married and settled down. Unfortunately, WW I broke out the next year and he was called up and returned to Europe. According to family myth, he was gassed at Ypres but returned to the front after a short convalescence.
After the war, he returned to Canada, started a family with his wife who faithfully awaited for his return, and made his living as an egg and chicken farmer and occasional lumberjack and ice seller. He died in 1977 when he was in his 90's.
I remember visiting him during the 1970's when I was a small child. His house stood out in my mind because it was the only home I had been to that didn't have a TV.
The furniture in the living room was arranged in such a way to facilitate conversation and social interaction.
There was a German cuckoo clock on the wall which was the loudest thing inside his house--he lived on a farm very far from any road.
He drank rum or scotch straight or with water and only in moderation.
He always smoked a pipe.
The played the accordion and sang for entertainment. I was told he could play the bagpipes but never saw it myself.
He was the last person in the family who could play ANY musical instrument.
He planted a garden every year and was an organic gardener before the word was invented: he forbade the use of chemical fertilizers etc. I remember spending summer with my grandparents in the garden when I was a kid weeding by hand.
We also could eat the carrots pulled straight from the ground and washed with water from the hand pump in the house.
When he died, he got sick on a Friday and passed away on Sunday at home. Otherwise, he never got ill.
Compared to my grandparents, parents and even my generation (I was born in 1968), it was an enviable life, full, robust , healthy and happy and completely TV-free.

Tony B. Halifax, N.S., Canada

My family watches television constantly. The tv is always on regardless of whether or not anyone is in the room. As an adult, I have come to realize that tv is a time and energy sucker. It sucks the life out of your day. I cancelled cable and rent Netflix when I want to see a movie. I have so much more time, am healthier and get involved in real life.

Laura from N.Greenbush, NY