"Able-vision" Sweeping the Country

"Able-vision" has long been a part of the fabric of American culture. In the beginning, before cable and satellite, there was able-vision. Any combination of rabbit ears, aluminum foil, screw drivers, or metal flakes that would bring in a clearer pitcher was absolutely acceptable on top of your television set. After all, able-vision was defined as whatever channels you were able to get in clear with these devices. It was a simple time, with maddening frustrations when you really wanted to see something clear.

Able-vision is making a comeback and sweeping the nation as the rising costs of cable and satellite drive us to think we can survive with only a handful of channels. My wife and two kids are surviving our sixth month without the costs of cable and we are surviving, though barely. Why is it that when your favorites come on, that is when the signal decides to pick up the vacuum cleaner snow from next door? It is a bit amazing to me.

One thing that has been a very positive part of this experiment is that our family has begun to interact more and play games, etc. Our board games have gotten a workout for the first time in years. That has been a nice change from the same old television routines. Watching my little girls get angry over a game of charades is a heck of a lot more fun than any television show. It is my belief that America's dependence on television is becoming a family epidemic. Certainly turning off the tube now and then would help us regain some contact with our kids and marriages.

Could it be that able-vision is the answer to our television addiction? Next time you decide to whip out your checkbook to pay that cable bill, consider this. My wife, kids, and I just took a five day vacation at the beach. The entire weekend was funded with our able-vision savings over the past several months. We intend to do this again in about six months. Just by giving up a clearer picture and a few thousand channels of stuff we don't even watch half the time, we were able to head to the beach and have a big time.

Football season is coming up really soon, and I am sure to cuss the television several thousand times over the course of the year, but I wouldn't give up my able-vision for anything. Of course, when the signal changes then I will have to reassess. Until then I figure we can get a ton of vacations in. Join the able-vision revolution and enjoy your family once again.