Memory Box - Travel & T.V.

From the Memory Box:

Remember when we went to Colorado in the van? We had the black & white T.V. that would run for two hours on a battery and the four of us watched Kramer vs Kramer. At the end of the show, (DD#1) had to keep flipping the switch to get a bit of a charge so that she could see who starred in the show. How in the world did we get reception, speeding down the highway?

It was a 15 passenger van. We thought it would provide enough room for four children that we would not have any problems. NOT! However, one of the bench seats in the middle of the van could be flipped around so two of the bench seats could face each other. A table could then be pulled up, attached to the wall of the van on one side and rested on one leg on the other side.

The T.V. was portable, very small, and had only a black and white picture. It could be plugged in to an electrical outlet or run on its battery. Although the battery did not last long, the novelty of it did make the trip a bit easier for a couple of hours.

Another way I maintained a couple of hours camaraderie, but it only worked one time, was when I told the children we would be going through snow.
"Keep your eyes open," I said, "you will miss it if you aren't being observant."
The exercise kept everyone's attention for quite a while, even though they were sceptical and kept asking when they would see it. Finally, I pointed out to them, as we sailed past in the car, the little green sign on the side of the road that said "Snow."
They tried to argue, but I was adamant that we had gone through a small town named Snow. Therefore, we had gone through Snow.