What a thing to happen on a birthday. There we were, sitting in our comfy chairs, and the “Corner Dominator” flashed up a blue screen of death. And it doesn’t even run on Windows.
I refer, of course, to the source of Entertainment, Depression, and Garbage… the TV.
Is the world ending? For how can any mere mortal survive without the mix of pap, pain, and chuckles provided by the Great Glory of Television?
For a brief moment we thought we only had a screw loose (no comment, please!) or a cable adrift. A glimmer of hope… the TV is still working… but doom followed fast. The Box of Magic beneath was busted. It turned up its toes and is deceased, to broadcast never more.
Devastation! Surely life as we know it is also busted? No telly, no streaming, no recorded masterpieces (and thankfully no Eastenders or Corrie). “What shall we do?” quoth I. “Verily, nowt,” sayeth the Wise Woman of the House. So we were radical… in fact, I talked to the Woman- turns out she’s quite nice, really. Fancy discovering that after being married for 37 years!
Anyway, to put me out of your misery, a phone call to the call centre in Newcastle and a very helpful and annoyingly cheerful lass arranged for a replacement Box which arrived the very next day. Life is no longer “busted.” But will we still talk to each other? Or anybody else?
There is a more serious question if our lives can be so wrecked by busted technology. Do we WATCH the telly, or WORSHIP in front of it? Hmm.
You must worship no other gods, for the LORD,
whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous
about his relationship with you.
Exodus 34 v14
The photo: part of the display at Bletchley Park where Alan Turing and his team of codebreakers turned computers into a useful tool. They’d be amazed at the complicated little boxes that have revolutionised our homes and “relaxation time”.
The Reflectionary 