No Television? My life would not move forward! So habituated am I to this luxury of being able to surf numerous channels every day! I cannot even imagine living in a remote area where it is too expensive to set up a cable or satellite connection, no paved roads for speeding automobiles, no high-tech highway or devices, etc. And even in this urban setting, if I should suddenly find that all the TV networks had disappeared barring one, I really would not know what to do!

Yet, the very thing that I had only imagined, was put into action just a few days ago. I was unable to continue my “writing” work in peace, what with all the varied noises surrounding me–deafening music, equally noisy dogs, drunken fights, and so on! Deciding to experiment, and wishing to have some peace and quiet for my writing work, I went ahead and bought a little trailer to journey into the unknown! The idea was to go as deep into the woods as possible to escape from noisy civilization and noisy conversations!

My trailer was filled with all sort of bundles and boxes, considering that it was going to be a long stay. They had to be put down in some place first, since they contained all the materials that I would need in this remote area. One such important item was the TV and its remote. My friends were kind enough to get it hooked up for my entertainment. Well, after spending the whole day settling the place, I switched on the TV. The satellite dish system as well as the remote were totally unfamiliar to me, and I had no idea how to change channels. Result: View one channel only or switch off the TV. What they were showing was some show with a lot of screams and violence with guns and explosions! I was stuck here till my friends returned after a few days to help out!

This of course made me revert to that old clich, you don’t know what you got till it’s gone, and to feeling sorry for myself-that I had one choice, one TV network, though it was the sort of company I needed to keep from going completely bonkers. This also got me to thinking about those hypothetical exercises you fool around with in an interpersonal dynamics class, wherein you decide, of the ten people on the list, whom you will choose to go with you in the boat that fits only seven and whom you will abandon. Which TV network would I choose if I were allowed only one? That’s a tough one. Turner Movie Classics is a frontrunner, especially since is commercial-free. But then whichever station carries the most reality TV shows might be better, cause then you could force yourself to catch the news, as well. If affordable to you, you might choose to go with the Indy Channel, or another fascinating, educational and entertaining network that would cover more than basic TV-viewing needs.

Argh. I cannot decide. Can you? Thank God and the network powers that be, as well as the many stupendous artists, that we have more than one optionthat we have hundreds.