ABSTRACT
It is just past supper time in a small town in 1953. The family gathers around the blackand-white television to watch the only show on the only station in town. The father fusses with the controls and the rabbit ears to get the clearest signal. Successful, he rushes to his chair. At the exact moment he sits down, the picture turns to static. He gets up with a determinedly authoritative smile. He quenches the urge to curse aloud out of fear that it may upset the magical device. Once he gets to the TV, he merely reaches toward the controls and the picture becomes “clear as a bell.” He slowly backs up to his chair-not daring to take his eyes off the TV. He crouches. His hand blindly finds the arm of the chair. He leans back…further…almost sitting…and BAM! The picture disappears. “This fool thing has a mind of its own!”
