BYB(7): TV, Fridge, Phone and Great Neighbors

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There are a lot of things that we take for granted today. Many of these have made our lives easier, convenient and interesting. The three things that I have seen being introduced into my life are the Television, the Telephone and the Refrigerator.

When the first color television was brought to our neighborhood, it caused a major stir. Everyone came to congratulate the lucky family that owned the tv. Behind the congratultaions were selfish motives. For, if you didn’t show up to congratulate the owners and admire their tv set, how would you come later to watch your favorite shows on it. So, buying the tv turned out to be more of a nuisance than a convenience for the owner, because every Sunday at 10:00 AM the house would be overflowing with people wanting to watch the show that was very popular at that time. You could not say no to anyone and what sort of host would you be, if you did not serve tea to each of your guest and throw in some biscuits to go along with the tea. It were tough times for the television set owner, who had no option but to smile in his misery. But, television was more than just an idiot box, it is fast becoming today. It was an instrument to bring people together.

Then, someone went ahead and brought a refrigerator. People were not far behind in coming and congratulating the owner too. And for many days after that, belive it or not,all the kids in the neighborhood found that the best spots to play were around the house, for the lady of the house came out every now and then, bringing along with her ice cubes for the kids. Plain ice cubes that would disappear in little mouths at a faster rate than the refrigerator could produce them. The flavor time would come in the evening, when, one after another, neigbors would drop by, apparently for a casual evening chat,but what neighbor could you dare to offend by not offering some ice cream delicacy from your newly bought refrigerator? And when you did that, you did it with a smile.

About the same time, someone went ahead and got a telephone connection. That was the most wonderous thing to happen to our small neighborhood. It was as if the whole neighborhood had got a telephone connection and had been connected to the whole wide world. If someone asked any of us :

Do you have a telephone connection?

Th answer would be a prompt yes and the one telephone number, that we had in the neighborhood, would be given out. It was usual to forget to mention that the telephone was not in our own house but a neighbor’s. The owner of the telephone would only be informed after the number had been given out to everyone you knew. It would be the duty of the telephone owner to inform the required person when the phone rang. He would be irritated and angry, yet he would do his bidding with a smile on his face.

Things have changed. Almost every house has a tv, a telephone and a fridge now. What has also changed is the way we feel about our neighbors and our society. To have great neighbors and a good neighborhood is a great blessing, and while we cant make sure that we have great neighbors, what we can make sure is that we ourselves become great neighbors to the people who live around us.

Have a great week!