Gifting a TV

We almost forgot about the television set in the far back when we donated the old green Dodge Caravan to charity recently. But at the last minute, I asked a burly guy at the auto repair place to load it into the back seat of my Honda, where it has sat ever since.

It was a good TV when purchased 4 years ago. It even included a built-in DVD player. But we hardly need another TV, given I rarely ever watch the large-screen one we have in our family room. And with our son currently in Budapest and the cost of moving a heavy TV anywhere, we really needed to get rid of it.

My friend’s TV has recently died, but she lives in a small efficiency and thought the rather large clunky old-style model just too big. So I offered it to my friend Deborah, who has never owned a TV. My hat goes off to her, given she managed to raise two well-adjusted children.

But recently when she was recuperating from surgery, her daughter gave her a Net-Flix subscription and subsequently she and her husband have been watching movies on their computer. It works fine for one person, but it’s a little difficult for an audience of more than one.

So today the TV from the back of the green van took up residence in Deborah’s house. There was debate about where to put it in their house, which doesn’t have much unused space. Perhaps in a closet, only to be brought out for movies. But it is really heavy, so that’s not terribly practical. Perhaps in the cleaned-out fireplace. But their daughter asked how they would ever again have a fire. They will figure it out.

But the question still remains – does it actually work after its ride from Tucson to San Francisco and then across the country? I really hope so after so many people have turned their thoughts to this old TV this week.