When B and I returned to Michigan in February of last year, one of my first tasks was to order internet service. Knowing Adam would be in Iraq, and that we'd want to be able to Skype with him, getting a hookup at the house was a major priority.
I'd long heard horror stories about using Comcast as a provider; mainly anecdotes about hidden charges that sprung into existence after a few months or poor connection at certain times a day. We had previously used a local provider for our internet, but when I went searching for their service, I was informed they were downsizing and not able to take on any new customers. So, after looking around at various providers, I found myself forced, kicking and screaming, back to Comcast. After telling the sales representative that I ONLY wanted internet service, not cable tv (and then informing him five more times before threatening to hang up if he didn't stop asking), I finally managed to get a contract.
When the technician came to install a few days later, he asked me if I wanted cable tv. Exasperated, I almost threw a shoe at him. Ever-so-calmly, he informed me that if he used a split coaxial line, he could draw a digital feed to the tv from the internet service. I wouldn't actually be getting cable tv, but I could get all my regular network channels clearly, and without having to use a converter box (or worse yet, bunny ears). I was game, so I let him do it.
Flash forward a year. The hidden fee hikes the sales rep swore would not take effect have done so. We begrudgingly pay since switching to another provider would mean insanely expensive installation charges, and we are also not ready to go "offline" at this juncture in our lives. The bigger fist in the stomach, however, occurred last week when I turned on the tv to watch PBS's morning kid show lineup, only to find the dreaded blue screen. Ominous words loomed out from the screen, informing me that "
if you can see this screen, you need to call Comcast to configure your television for Comcast's new digital cable tv service." I knew before I called that this wasn't going to end well. I was right. Barbara, the customer service agent, informed me that the only way I'd be able to take advantage of the new digital service was if I were to actually purchase a cable subscription. I knew that answer was horse-hockey. I already HAD digital service from Comcast; all I needed now was the little converter box they sent out to customers to configure their tv sets. She just wasn't willing to send it to me because somehow making my local network channels clearer through the digital coaxial cable equated to spongeing free cable off the company. So, I stood my ground. No tv.
No....t...v....even Adam was surprised by my unrelenting stance. Would we be okay? Would Bryony function? We've never had no tv before! Whatever will we do?
I remembered all those episodes of
Oprah when she'd challenge a typical American family to shut off the tv for a week. The kids would pout, Dad would sneak downstairs at 2am for a glance at infomercials and Mum would try to corral everyone into submission (while secretly yearning for
Grey's Anatomy). And then, by day 2, something would happen. The family would stop missing tv. And they'd start engaging with each other, in ways they'd never done so before. Bike rides together through town, family dinners gathered around the dining room table instead of in front of the tv, books before bedtime. By the end of the week, even the kids were saying how much better family life was.
We have found a similar result. We spend so much more time outside in this beautiful weather; we eat as a family at the table and we are seeing more of the city this summer than we have in almost a decade of living here. Good-bye, tv...hello, life!
Will we forever be rid of the television? Nah...I see it coming back sooner rather than later, and it'll be nice to catch up on favorite shows as the fall premieres set in. But, I'm enjoying being cut off from the boob tube...tuning into my family is a much, much better program.
