I was born in 1945. Dad and Grandpa Slater always had a penchant for new gadgets and the television was no exception. It wasn't long before Dad brought a TV into our home. It was an Emerson, a Philco, a Sylvania, or an Admiral. I can't remember exactly. Magnavox, RCA, Zenith, and Silvertone seemed to come later but I could be wrong. We kids couldn't get enough of this new wonder. After Mom and Dad put us to bed, they might go out for a little break. It seemed safe enough, in those days, to leave us home alone. Nothing ever happened save our own home-grown mischief. We would sneak out of bed and turn the TV on, taking turns in keeping vigil on the driveway. If one of us heard the sound of a motor or a flash of headlight, we would quickly shut down the TV and run diving under the covers. This always worked. One time, when we peeked out, we saw Dad press his hand to the top of the TV, feel the warmth, and then gaze slyly over to where we were "sleeping"! They knew what we had "been getting away with" all along! In the daytime nothing was on. Even the "test patterns" (usually a side-view of an Indian Chief in full headdress)didn't come on until close to noon. On the weekends, the TV came on earlier--perhaps by 10AM or so. We would turn the set on, and wait, sometimes for hours before the Chief appeared. Even then, it could be another hour before a program appeared. Nothing was set in stone in those days. The stations acted like watching TV was indeed a privilege and that their only obligation was in keeping their programming clean. We watched anything and everything that came on. From Stan Boreson to Pinky Lee, Howdy Doody, Kukla Fran & Ollie, and the weekend cowboy shows. There was also Buster Brown, Crusader Rabbit, and Flash Gordon. We felt really lucky when an Our Gang show was offered. At night, as a family, we watched things such as the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, Ed Sullivan, The Hit Parade, Amos and Andy, and Beulah. Right after supper on Friday's it was the Friday Night Fights laden with Gillette and Pabst Blue Ribbon commercials. Sundays featured "Mama" and The Lawrence Welk Show. I remember Jack Benny, Gary Moore, Sid Cesear, Groucho Marx, Ozzie and Harriet, and others. You are There, You Asked For It, and What's My Line were also family favorites including Name That Tune. We kids watched so much TV that Dad would try to put limits down claiming that too much TV would "make us go blind"! No body knew as TV was basically new to everyone. We worried sometimes but not often. Anyway, worries weren't strong enough to change our TV addiction. Today, the kids are into video games and I-Pads. When my sisters and I were kids, it was TV and comic books. I guess it will always be something. I'm now almost 69 years old and not blind yet.