Sunday, April 15, 2012

Signals an End of an Era

When I got up on the roof to replace the rotting wood that formed the enclosure around my chimney pipe, I found an old, battered and forgotten icon of a lost era.  There attached to the back of the chimney at the top of the roof was the forgotten TV antenna.  I believe I had purchased this color TV antenna from Radio Shack, or may Sears and Roebuck.  It has been serving as a bird perch since we went with cable TV years ago. 

It also served as a lightning-bolt-attractor.  One August afternoon about 18 years ago, the house was struck by lightning, nails were fired out of the interior walls across the room, the living room was filled with drywall chips, chunks and dust and smoke.  The TV signal amplification box was melted into a glob of charred plastic.  Sue dashed out of the house with two younguns to the neighbor's to call the fire department.  No fire, just frayed nerves and fried electronics.

I cut the co-axial cable that still ran from the antenna and into the attic where it dangled unattached, unbolted the shaft and flung the relic assembly onto the lawn below.  I looked across the neighborhood from my vantage two stories up to see if we had the last TV antenna on our block.  We were not the last on our block to ditch the TV antenna, as I did see two other homes with an antennas.

Don't touch that dial! All of you out there in Internetland.  Sunesonscenes will be right back; same time, same station!

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