It was the early 1950s and very few people had televisions. It was easy to see that TV was the new "in" thing and it was only a matter of time before "everyone had one". The bad part was that our family didn't have one. I had been allowed to attend one of my schoolmate's birthday party. There was the usual cake and ice cream and opening of presents, but the highlight of the party was getting a chance to see TV for the first time. The screen was small and the picture snowy, but it was the most amazing thing I had ever witnessed in my six or seven years of existence. We just had to have one of those things.

Now in those days it was customary for my sisters and me to get a ride to school with my dad. His work day started much earlier than the school day, so he would let us ride with him to his work place and we three would walk the rest of the way to school. This was our chance to have dad all to ourselves and start petitioning him to buy a TV. I'm sure he too would have liked having a TV, but the cost of the set including the cost of an antenna was probably out of the question for his budget. We lived about 50 miles from the nearest TV station, so we would really need a good sized antenna. Because of this, it was easy to tell who had a TV. If there was an antenna, there was a TV. It was the newest status symbol, and more and more of them were beginning to show up on tops of houses. We kids really didn't care what the thing cost, we wanted one.

As I reflect back on it, I'm sure dad was sick and tired of listening to us, probably mostly me since I was the youngest and didn't have the good sense to keep my mouth shut, beg daily for a TV. He had to cook up some scheme to relieve him from the daily onslaught of TV talk. "You don't even know what's on TV" he'd say, but everyday I'd get programming information from my new best pal with the TV. Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, wrasslin', boxing and all sorts of other stuff we absolutely couldn't do without; we just had to have one.

Our ride to work/school took us by a tiny house; maybe not much bigger that 15'X15'. Our chicken house was about to fall down, but it was in better condition and larger. The front porch looked as if it would cave in at the slightest breeze, the tin roof was curled where spring storms had pulled it loose from the anchoring nails, and the brick patterned tar paper siding was torn and tattered. Most outhouses were in better condition. Surely the economic plight of the poor people that lived in this type of dwelling would never allow them to be able to afford a TV. This was dad's deal: If a TV antenna ever showed up on top of that house, if they ever could afford to have a TV, then we could afford a TV; peace at last. The deal was struck, the promise was made and there was no backing out. His was the safest of bets, because the people that lived in the small falling down shanty could barely afford their next meal let alone a new fangeled fad called a TV.

Even I realized this was a bad deal, but it was the only one in town. I was now resigned to the fact that TV was not in our family's future; not now; not ever. Undaunted, I always made a point to look carefully at the small dilapidated little shack of a home to make sure no TV antenna was somehow magically in place.

Dad was mighty proud of his cleverness; so proud, he couldn't keep it to himself. He bragged to his co-workers how he hoodwinked us kids and how he was now off the hook for a TV. No longer would he have to listen to us (me) daily pleading the case for a TV. Life again in the Schmidt household was peaceful and the subject seldom came up. I still checked every day, but no TV antenna was to be seen. When the subject came up at work, dad continued to brag about his clever idea and he was continually encouraged by his co-workers and congratulated on how clever he was.

Then one day it happened, there it was, unbelievably, a bright and shiny new TV antenna attached to the dilapidated little shanty. They had a TV! They had a TV! They had a TV! Dad was stunned, dumbfounded, amazed, and couldn't believe his eyes. His creditability was on the line. A promise is a promise and he resigned himself to keeping his. Keep it he did. It wasn't long until an antenna was on our roof and our first TV had taken over from the radio as the main form of entertainment in the Schmidt household. We had a TV! Wow, unbelievable, we actually had a TV. Say or think what you want about dad, he kept his word, and we had a TV.

Not long after our TV was in place and the antenna was firmly attached to the roof of our house, the antenna disappeared from the roof of the little shanty. It seems the guys at work had arranged with the TV store owner and the shanty owner to set dad up. They had the last laugh and we had a TV. Thanks guys, where ever you are.


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