Basic HTML Version
30
April – June 2013
www.deltalivingmagazine.com
By Walter Ruehlig
walter.ruehlig@gmail.com
E
ditor Charleen Earley sent
me a picture of a 'new' TV
she bought at a thrift shop and,
though inartful, circa 50’s Ameri-
cana furniture, I felt myself awed.
This veritable shrine had trans-
formed America’s household ritu-
als, manners, morals and mores.
In 1937, RCA envisioned TV's
incredible promise, hiring Russian
scientistVladimir Zworkin and in-
vesting $50 million research dol-
lars to perfect John Baird’s primi-
tive prototype built 10 years ear-
lier.WWII slowed progress, but at
con ict’s end war-related technical
advances, increased leisure time,
rising disposable incomes and
the rst manufactured sets under
$200.00 intersected.
Ownership exploded from 5%
of households in 1946 to over 50%
by 1955. No other invention had
entered homes faster. Remarkably,
TV’s now an annual $60 billion
dollar business.
The medium became the mes-
sage as TV usage grew to an aver-
age seven hours daily, playing baby
sitter and oracle. Today’s popular
shows, news or sportscasts invari-
ably de ned tomorrow’s water
cooler chitchat. Newborn pro-
tagonist and great levelizer, TV
homogenized a heterogeneous
population, connecting urban and
rural mindsets.
It helped derail McCarthyism,
fuel the Civil Rights movement,
and abort the Vietnam War. Tell-
ingly, afterWalter Cronkite brand-
ed the Viet Nam con ict a “stale-
mate,” LBJ lamented,“If we’ve lost
Cronkite, we’ve lost America.”
The 50’s heralded the Golden
Age of Television, hosting superb
original theatre like Marty,Twelve
Angry Men and Days of Wine
and Roses.Vaudeville stars Milton
Berle, Sid Caesar, Jack Benny and
Jackie Gleason played live. Forget
canned laughter.
Television broadcast simpler
days with three major networks,
car companies, breads. On ‘I Love
Lucy’ or Ed Sullivan nights you
knew what your neighbors and
the nation were doing.
With lightning rapidity, TV’s
ickering blue glow eclipsed our
living rooms, casting a spell over
the American cultural landscape. It
became, in the words of Douglas
Brinkley, “our meeting hall, the
cathedral, the corner bar, and the
town square.”
As radio had become the new
print,TV became radio with eyes.
What soothsayer could have pre-
dicted that the innocuous looking
box sporting ‘rabbit ears’ held a ge-
nie secreting seismic societal shifts?
We turned a knob simply seek-
ing escape and, eureka, channeled
history.
And that’s the way it was.
Channeling History: but will it make money?!
You must protect your gift even in the
face of adversity. Adversity can come to you
or because of you. There must be a dedica-
tion on your part to declare that this thing
that I have been given, I will give despite my
circumstances. If it was given to me, I will
give it back to the world. I must be faithful
to the calling of my purpose.You are the fa-
cilitator of your purpose. It is in you and it is
you.You must navigate through the obstacles
of life and remember that you were chosen.
You have been chosen to give the world that
thing that only you can give.
In this dedication to your purpose, despite
your circumstance, God knows he made the
right choice in you.
-William Bubba Paris
Words from Bubba …
Protect your gift!
TV purchased at Make Me An Offer, located at 3510 Main St., Oakley, CA, (925) 679-8138 or makemeanoffer43@gmail.com