Just how true this is folks.

Just how true this is folks Al




A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our

town.

From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and

soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted

and was around from then on.



As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind,

he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mum

taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...

he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with

adventures, mysteries and comedies.



If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always

knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed

able to predict the future! He took my family to the first NHL hockey

game.

He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking,

but Dad didn't seem to mind.



Sometimes, Mum would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing

each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen

for peace and quiet.

(I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)



Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger

never felt obligated to honour them. Profanity, for example, was not

allowed in our home - not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long

time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears

and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the

liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a

regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes

distinguished.

He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were

sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing..

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced

strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my

parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.



More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our

family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was

at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would

still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen

to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?....

We just call him 'TV.'

(Note: This should be required reading for every household!)

He has a wife now....we call her 'Computer.'



Their first child is Cell Phone... Second child is I Pod... Third child is Blackberry..........