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| Our electronic magic-maker. |
It was time.
1982. Our (then) family consisted of three boys ages 4, 3
and 1.
We finally purchased our first VCR.
We had hesitated a long time to get one.
Years.
After all, the first unit came out in 1976.
Husby had delayed until the prices came down and the ‘bells
and whistles’ increased.
Finally, when a unit was introduced featuring a remote, he
could wait no longer.
Okay, yes, the remote was attached to the unit by a long
cord. But still . . .
Now on to my real story . . .
We purchased our VCR at Smith’s Electric in Lethbridge,
Alberta.
But that isn’t the most important part of this story.
Nope.
What is most important was found in a little cardboard box
at the back of the tidy Smith’s store. A selection of pre-recorded VHS tapes.
Available to be borrowed by the lucky new owners of the
store’s electronic marvels.
One of those tapes was Disney’s The Black Hole.
A great, rather dark, space adventure featuring rogue
captains, murderous robots, missing spaceships, a vegetative crew, a beautiful mind-reading
heroine and, interestingly, a Black Hole.
I won’t tell you how many times we borrowed that tape.
Let me put it in another way.
My four-year old (now 40-year-old) watched it so many times,
I had the entire thing memorized. Including pre and post advertisements.
How do I know this?
A few days ago, our family thought it would be fun to watch,
for old time’s sake, The Black Hole.
And I could still quote the entire thing.
The. Entire. Thing.
With sound effects and pauses for theatrical emphasis.
Now if I could just remember where I put my wretched car keys
. . .
Don't forget! Tomorrow is Poetry Monday!
See you there!
