Evening star., 1951-04-08

away Lne OLner Qay-perIOraCeQi
cathode ulcer, or something like
that-and a whole new way Of life
opened up. It was an old way.
really, but it seemed like a new
way after several years of condi-
tioning to the TV-dominated liv-
ing room.
Old or new. it had its points. It
was quieter, for one thing, during
the predinner hour. The younger
set was still doing its accustomed
imitation of a cross between a
rodeo and a dockyard riot, but it
wasn't drowning out anything.
There was just large vacant
area at one end of the room
they put those 10-inch screens on
the front of big boxes back in 1948
and not a varmint was being
flushed by a posse. not a six-gun
was being fired. The quiet was
not to last for long. however. Al
ready having been deprived of
their afternoon communion with
Howdy Doody, the young grew
restless sitting there beside the
empty corral.
Positive action was indicated.
There was nothing to do but lift
the lid on that abandoned relic
resting there sleepily in its obso-
lescence. .@~% atf ~
This" said Pappy as he twisted
the remembered knob. sis some
thing you probably don't know
about. This is a radio. 1t is tele-
vision you don't even have to
bother to look at"
Cisco Is Still Cisco
By Way of Any Medium |
This witticism was met with
something less than hysterical
but its author was saved
when the tubes warmed up and
voices came from the relic.
bot Ceesco," said one of them,
"whot for-r-r-r you want to do
thot?"
"Cisco Kid" chorused the
young, beating him to the draw
and blazing away. Having been
thoroughly grounded by TV in
the actions which go with the
words, they were able to follow
the Cisco Kid happily for almost
half an hour.
Later they discovered "Onel
Mans Family" on this same treas
ured heirloom and their parents
discovered that this would be al
fine night to go listen to Eric
Thorsen at the Mayf1ower Lounge.
The following night the TV set
still was absent-under an elec-
tron tent receiving artificial syn
chronization. The radio was in
good health. At least it was re-
producing faithfully what the
wandering kilocycles fed into it.
The kilocycles turned out to be
feeding "One Mans Family" into
it again. This seemed to be over
doing it a bit. but then it was
remembered that television has
that elderly "Pot of Gold" movie
which it keeps OVERRIDING.
In no time at all the devoteesI
of this new form of pictureless
television discovered that it also
was eager to relate the latest ad-
ventures of Henry A1drich. In
fact, it had a sort of double por-
ton Of this, following Henry with
something titled Father Knows
Best, which sounded to the TV
editor as if it also could have
been called Henrietta Aldrich."
Rodio Helps You Waste !
Your Time q Lot Foster
This opportunity to examine
the current radio fare was en-
braced eagerly, you may be sure.
If the survey became less thor
ough than intended, it was only
because Of a basic advantage radio
has over television. Radio does
not require your full attention.
There is no Dagmar standing
there in your living room demand
ing that you drop everything else
and stare.
You can even read a book while
you listen to the radio, which has
the double advantage that you do
not hear what you are listening
to and forget what you read. This
permits you to waste time in the
modern American way, at double
speed, two hours in an hour.
Watching television, you can waste
only one hour at a time.
The disadvantage, when you are
trying to examine what's on the
radio, is that it becomes part of
Authorized Deoler in Worlds Finest
/