A Big Screen Visitor

Today’s segment is certainly not an original and I don’t even remember how I came across it several years ago but I liked it enough that I saved it and am bringing it back today.

It starts with a young boy who talks about his father meeting a stranger who was new to the small town they lived in.  The father was so fascinated with the newcomer that he was invited to live with the family and he quickly accepted and was around them from then on.

As the boy grew up he never questioned the stranger’s place in the family.  His Mom taught him good from evil, Dad taught him to obey but the stranger was a real story teller.  He would keep the children spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.

If the boy wanted to know anything about politics, history, sports or science it was the stranger who always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and could even predict the future.  He even took the family to their first major league baseball game.

While alcohol wasn’t permitted in the house the stranger encouraged the family to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.  He talked freely about sex and his comments were sometimes suggestive and generally embarrassing.

He made them laugh and cry and never stopped talking but nobody seemed to mind although from time to time Mom or Dad would leave the room to get a break and some peace and quiet.

Dad ruled the household with certain moral convictions but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them.  Profanity was not allowed in the home by anyone for any reason but the stranger got away with four-letter words that made Dad squirm and Mom blush.

Many years have passed since the stranger moved in with the family.  He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.  Still, if you would walk into the parents ‘den today you would find him sitting in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

Oh his name you ask. Well, they just call him “TV.”

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