From Me To You...
There was a time, not so long ago, when television ran our lives with an iron fist and we were absolutely fine with that. Your favorite show aired once a week, on a specific channel, at a specific time, and if you missed it, you missed it. No replays. No catch-up apps. Just the cold, silent judgment of your friends on Monday morning. Enter the VCR, that beautiful, blinking, perpetually- midnight-flashing miracle machine. Taping a show was an act of love and commitment. You had to set the timer, label the cassette, and pray that nobody accidentally recorded over your season finale with a three-hour golf tournament. (Looking at you, Dad.) Taping etiquette was serious business. You did not borrow someone’s tape without asking. You rewound when you were finished. You never recorded over someone else’s tape, and yes, that was absolutely grounds for a family meeting. And the anticipation! Waiting an entire week between episodes built genuine suspense. Cliffhangers were devastating. Water-cooler conversation was everything. We theorized, we argued, we called each other on the phone like civilized people.
Now? We drop an entire season on a Friday and resurface on Sunday looking like we’ve survived something. “Did you watch it yet?” has replaced every other form of human greeting. Spoilers travel at the speed of light. And somehow, despite having access to everything, we still spend forty-five minutes deciding what to watch. Perhaps the greatest plot twist of all is this: we fought for the remote, we programmed the VCR, we scheduled our entire week around thirty minutes of television, and we were, somehow, deeply, ridiculously happy. Not only have we lost that anticipation, we have become a nation where immediate gratification is demanded in all things. As for me and my typewriter, I’ll see you next month - same time, same channel. Catherine Uretsky Editor, The Hamlet Magazine info@estrellapublishing.com 623.398.5541
We Come To You! Save Time, Save Money, Less Stress! Servicing Domestic and Import Complete auto repair and maintenance. Casey Schwebel - Local resident
March 2026 5
Estrella Publishing - The Hamlet magazine
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker