Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Five Years Cable Free!

As of today I've been cable free for five years! I cut the cable way back on Thursday, June 25, 2009.

I haven't regretted a single minute of the past five years. In fact looking back I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. I haven't missed a thing and if you've ever thought about cutting the cord yourself I encourage you to do so. Trust me when I tell you that you won't be sorry.

Why'd I do it? Am I some kind of technophobe who doesn't trust newfangled inventions? Hardly. My reason for dumping cable was simple. There were few shows I had any interest in watching, and it just didn't make economic sense to pay for hundreds of channels I never watched.


I hate Reality TV in all its forms, but in a way I'm glad it came along. Once reality shows began infecting the networks and taking over, it made it that much easier to stop watching TV. So thank you, producers of Reality TV schlock, for ruining TV to the point where I don't miss it.

It's not like I suddenly turned Amish or became some manifesto-scribbling mountain man. Occasionally a show will come along that piques my interest, such as The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones and Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. But I don't need cable to watch any of these shows; I can see them either online or over the air.

I've also got a big pile of DVDs to watch and video games I can play when I feel like being electronically entertained. Again, don't need cable for that! 

Best of all, no cable means no commercials! No longer do I have to sit through twelve minutes (or more!) of shrill, interminable advertisements during a thirty minute show.

Earlier this year I finally bought myself a flat screen TV. Yes, for the past nineteen years I've been watching the same old school picture tube TV set I bought back in 1995. It wasn't because I couldn't afford a new set, or that I was waiting to see if this whole HDTV thing was a passing fad and here to stay. I was brought up to believe you don't get rid of things that still work just because they're old. I finally decided this year that my point had been made and it might be time to consider an upgrade.

Anyhow, once I bought my fancy new 55" flatscreen, my mom asked me if I was going to sign up for cable again. The thought honestly never occurred to me. I said, "God no, why would I want to do that?" Mom looked puzzled and shook her head. She genuinely can't understand how I, or any human for that matter, can live a full and productive life without cable.

This is probably the last time I'll mark the anniversary of my cablelessness, as I'm sure everyone's tired of hearing about it. I will say once again that if you've ever entertained the idea of getting rid of cable your own self, go for it! You probably think that you'll be missing something, but I guarantee you, you won't. Those Duck Dynasty guys will get along just fine without you.

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