![](\"https:\/\/images.dailykos.com\/images\/659195\/large\/1958BWTV.jpg?1553899095\")
Mom had shown me that you could \u201cdivide\u201d things into four \u201cquarters\u201d by drawing an \u201cimaginary\u201d line across the middle and another one up and down the middle. Where those two lines crossed was the \u201ccenter\u201d. She said it worked for things that were square or round. She liked doing things like that, thinking with lines and numbers, and writing them on a piece of paper.<\/p>\n
So it worked for square things like the basement. When you walked down the stairs to the bottom and turned left, that was my quarter. It was perfect for me because I was left handed and liked to go that way anyway. It had my toys and the shelves mom and dad made out of bricks and boards to put the toys in when I wasn\u2019t playing with them. They never did anything in that part of the basement. I could always play there whenever I wanted to. They called it \u201cCloob\u2019s area\u201d, though now they were calling it \u201cCoop\u2019s area\u201d because of my new nickname.<\/p>\n
At the bottom of the stairs, if you turned right and walked around the big \u201cfurnace\u201d thing, that quarter was called the \u201claundry room\u201d. It had a big white washing machine and big gray sinks, plus a \u201cclothesline\u201d for hanging wet clothes that came out of the washing machine. I liked playing in that quarter of the basement too, because it had all these big metal things with knobs and buttons, though I knew I wasn\u2019t supposed to press them. And the big metal things also had little blue flames hiding inside if you looked really close, and they would make different noises when they started working.<\/p>\n
The washing machine made a lot of different noises if you waited long enough. After mom or dad turned the \u201cdial\u201d, it would make a whooshing water noise. Then it would stop and be quiet for a minute before you heard a clunk and then a noise like a car made when it was moving plus a water sloshing noise. Then if you waited longer, the noise would stop again for a minute, followed by another clunk. Then came the best part. It would go crazy with a louder car noise and even shake back and forth like it was going to explode, but it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Now instead of turning left or right at the bottom of the stairs, if you kept walking straight past the center of the basement and THEN turned right, that was dad\u2019s quarter. It had a rug on the floor and his desk, special wood chair and shelves like in my quarter. Except his shelves had books instead of toys. He said his books were like my toys. They were what he played with and learned from. His quarter also had a small bed and a \u201cbamboo screen\u201d that hung from the ceiling by the side of the bed to make it darker if he wanted to sleep down there in the daytime. They called his quarter \u201cthe office\u201d.<\/p>\n
I played there too sometimes when dad wasn\u2019t home. I sat in his chair and made it spin around by pushing my foot against the desk. I counted how many circles I could go before I stopped spinning. I could do three sometimes but never four. I also liked going in the place under his desk because it was like a tiny secret cave that I was small enough to fit into. And I liked the bamboo screen, because it made dad\u2019s quarter seem separate from the rest of the basement, like the furnace made the laundry room separate.<\/p>\n
What was left was the fourth quarter, which wasn\u2019t really anything special. It didn\u2019t have anything that gave it a name to talk about it like the other three. It just had a big white wood table with black metal legs, that mom and dad did \u201cprojects\u201d on sometimes. Sometimes I would play there too, when I needed more space for what I was doing. Sometimes I put a blanket over the table and turned it into a house or a cave that I could hide and play in. One time dad even turned it over so I could sit on it upside down and play Tom Sawyer on a raft on the river.<\/p>\n
But today that fourth quarter of the basement got something new to make it special!<\/p>\n
Dad came home from working and said he had a surprise in the trunk of the car. Mom and I came outside with him to see. She was carrying David who didn\u2019t walk or go anywhere by himself. The sky was gray and the air was cool and windy for the first time I could remember for a long time. But it felt tingly and good after all the warm air that wrapped around you and made your skin wet. Mom and I stood on either side of dad as he opened the trunk, David in her arms turning his head to look too.<\/p>\n
It was a television. I gasped. I knew it was a television because Molly\u2019s house had one and some other houses we went to had one too.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my god Eric\u201d, mom said, sounding mad, \u201cWe can\u2019t afford a television! What are you thinking? We can\u2019t even pay all my hospital bills from the delivery!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad was quiet and looked up at the sky but his face didn\u2019t look happy. \u201cLiz, I know that!\u201d he said, \u201cThe gal that manages the frat house I do work for said they were replacing this with a bigger model and I worked out a trade with her. I\u2019m going to give her writing lessons. She\u2019s a pretty good writer already but she wants to get better!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have time to do that, with work on your dissertation and all your odd jobs?\u201d mom asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure\u201d, he said, the word just came out of his mouth right after she asked the question without him thinking too much about it first.<\/p>\n
Mom looked like she was thinking of more things to say, but then she looked at me and her eyes opened wide as if they were saying that maybe it was okay after all. I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere should we put it?\u201d she asked, not looking or sounding angry anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, dad did that thing where he pushed his lips together when he was thinking hard. \u201cMaybe in the living room, or in the basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the living room\u201d, she said with a quick laugh and blowing air out of her nose, \u201cThere\u2019s no furniture in there to put it on, and I\u2019m not having brick and board shelves in our living room. If we can\u2019t afford any proper furniture I\u2019d rather it stay empty!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe TV in Molly\u2019s house is in the basement\u201d, I said, trying to help now that I was feeling a little less shy to talk to grownups.<\/p>\n
Mom and dad looked at me and then dad looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the basement it is\u201d, he said, \u201cWe can put it on the white table for now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust for right now!\u201d, mom said, \u201cI need every bit of that table top sometimes for my various projects, especially folding clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that Liz, I use it too!\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll get boards and bricks at Fingerlee\u2019s and we\u2019ll put it back beyond Coop\u2019s area against the west wall. You can watch while you\u2019re ironing or doing other chores in the basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds good\u201d, she said, \u201cThere is an outlet back there on that west wall. I don\u2019t want a cord anywhere that Coop could trip on or David might try to touch or chew on.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded. \u201cI\u2019ll put the bricks for the shelves right in front of the outlet so it won\u2019t be an attractive nuisance for the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two of them really liked working together on stuff like this, their \u201cprojects\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dad lifted the TV out of the trunk, and I followed him, with mom holding David behind me. He carried it down into the basement and set it on the floor. Then he grabbed either side of the white table and moved it over to the wall.<\/p>\n
Mom called out, \u201cEric, let me help you with that!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo I\u2019ve got it Liz\u201d, he said, grunting as he moved it against the wall. Then he put the TV on it and took the end of the cord with two shiny little metal things coming out of it and showed it to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis uses electricity\u201d, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s very dangerous. Never touch this plug or the outlet I\u2019m going to plug it into. Get your mom or me to help you. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt a little scared so I didn\u2019t say anything, but I nodded up and down really fast so they knew that I got it.<\/p>\n
The thing looked very small sitting there on the big table, much smaller than the TV in Molly\u2019s basement, which was in a wood box with legs. I watched that airplane story, \u201cSky King\u201d, down in their basement, that Molly really liked and watched with her dad too. We would sit on the shiny black \u201csofa\u201d that squeaked when you sat on it. Her dad would push the buttons to make the pictures and sounds. She and I had also watched funny talking animals but her dad didn\u2019t watch those with us. Her mom didn\u2019t like the TV and said that Molly shouldn\u2019t watch it too much. I liked it and Molly did too. It seemed very different than everything else and very interesting. I was so excited there was one in our basement now too.<\/p>\n
Dad leaned over in front of it to look close at the buttons on the front part.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiz. Coop,\u201d dad said, \u201cThis works like the radio. You turn it on with this small knob and adjust the volume to make it louder or softer. Then you tune it to the station you want to watch with this bigger knob. You may have to move these antennas on top around until you get a better picture.\u201d He pulled out two shiny silver sticks on the top of the TV. \u201cAt the frat house we got four channels\u2026 two, four, seven and nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard the click as he turned the small knob, and the thing made a crackly noise and started to hum like the radio did. A voice from inside the thing was singing about getting your money back if you bought a car. Then there was a small square of light in the middle of the glass part in the front which got bigger to fill the whole glass part with a fuzzy picture with wiggly lines waving through it. It looked like small pictures of pretend cars moving toward the center. Voices sang\u2026<\/p>\n
Roy O\u2019Brien\u2019s got them buying and buying
\nThey come from many miles away
\nYou\u2019ll save yourself a lot of dollars, dollars
\nBy driving out his way today<\/p><\/blockquote>\nDad moved the long silver sticks from side to side until the picture got less fuzzy and the wavy lines went away.<\/p>\n
Now on the glass part, dad called it the \u201cscreen\u201d, a woman and man inside a house were talking to each other. They both were angry and talking about someone else that the man liked. I thought her name was Mary because they kept saying that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is channel two\u201d, dad said, \u201cSome sort of a soap opera I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned the big knob and it clicked twice. There was a shiny gray car with a white stripe on the side and four people sitting at a long table behind it. Other people sitting behind them were yelling and cheering. The four people were each being asked to call out a number. Then one of them screamed and jumped up and down with her hands in the air and a man in dress up clothes and a tie came over and talked to her and walked her over to the car as she continued to scream.<\/p>\n
\u201cGame show on channel four\u201d, dad said. \u201cLooks like the lady won a car.\u201d He turned the big knob three more clicks.<\/p>\n
Some man with a white cowboy hat was shooting a gun at another man with a black cowboy hat, who was shooting at him too. I could see that dad liked watching this one more. The two men were moving around and trying to hide but still shooting at each other. Finally the man in the black hat stood up and the man in the white hat shot him. The man in the black hat put his hand over his chest, groaned, and fell over. His foot jerked and he stopped moving. The man in the white hat walked up to him and music started playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWestern on channel seven\u201d, dad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEric\u201d, mom said, sounding fierce, \u201cIs this appropriate for Cooper to be watching?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just changing the channels Liz to make sure it works\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I\u2019m not comfortable with Cooper or any kid watching shows like this!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, dad pushed his lips together thinking, \u201cIt is our history Liz, cowboys and the Wild West. Good versus evil!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is people shooting people, and I don\u2019t think it is appropriate for children. It encourages them to play with guns and I don\u2019t think they should\u201d, she said, \u201cnot even toy guns\u201d. Then puffing her cheeks and blowing out air, \u201cYou know how I feel about this Eric!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad pushed his lips together again while he was thinking. \u201cCoop\u2019s plastic soldiers have guns\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes you\u2019re right, and I\u2019ve thought about that too\u201d, she said, now looking at me, I could see in her eyes that she was thinking hard, \u201cBut I know Coop loves his soldiers, and they help him use his imagination, so I guess I compromise there. I\u2019m just very uncomfortable having guns in the house, real or toy, or even TV programs about people shooting each other with guns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad was quiet and looked like he was thinking and did not look happy. \u201cWhat about when the kids make guns out of their Tinker Toys? Are you going to not let them play with Tinker Toys?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom had a fierce look in her eyes but she smiled. \u201cI see that as different. That is their choice. I don\u2019t like it, but it\u2019s their choice. But a real gun, or a toy version of a real gun, is where I draw the line!\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing and looked away from her and back at the TV, turning the knob two more clicks.<\/p>\n
The picture was more fuzzy, but there were three women lying on the floor next to each other moving their legs up and down at the same time while the woman in the middle told them what to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome sort of women\u2019s exercise show on channel nine. This is the Canadian station from Windsor, across the river from Detroit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom nodded. \u201cI\u2019ll pick up a TV Guide at the A&P tomorrow\u201d, she said. She looked at dad and smiled a happier smile this time. \u201cYou\u2019ll go over to Fingerlee\u2019s and buy the shelf stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded with a happy smile as well. They were working together.<\/p>\n
She looked down and her face got kind of sad and then she turned her eyes up to look at him. \u201cSweetheart\u2026 I\u2019m sorry I snapped at you earlier when I thought you had bought this. I make myself crazy sometimes worrying about money. You did good here. Now some of my household chores might not be so mind-numbingly boring!\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded while she talked but didn\u2019t say anything. David started moving and making loud noises. She held him up and wrinkled her nose. \u201cThis one needs a fresh diaper\u201d, she said, \u201cExcuse me gentlemen, keep up the good work!\u201d and she headed up the stairs.<\/p>\n
Dad watched her go up the stairs so I did too. When she was gone he turned to the TV and turned the big knob so it clicked twice. The man with the white cowboy hat was riding a horse in the sand towards a mountain. Then there was more music and there were white words on the glass that moved upwards.<\/p>\n
Dad stared at the glass pictures thinking. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to being able to watch the World Series games on this thing\u201d, he said \u201cI also like the Westerns, but your mom doesn\u2019t care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He seemed more like a kid. Staring at a new toy and thinking what he could do with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe World Series\u201d, I said nodding, though I did not know what that was, but I had heard grownups and older kids talk about it.<\/p>\n
Still looking at the thing he said, \u201cIt\u2019ll be your mom\u2019s Yankees against probably the Milwaukee Braves.\u201d<\/p>\n
I got it. It was a baseball game. Dad knew a lot about baseball.<\/p>\n
And those words \u201cwest\u201d and \u201cwestern\u201d. I was thinking I got that too. It was some special place far away that you went to through the sky where there was sand instead of grass and men rode horses and shot guns at each other and there weren\u2019t any fences. But some women, like mom, didn\u2019t like it. They liked the \u201ceast\u201d. Grownups were strange, talking about these far away places that were not here. Molly liked the \u201cwest\u201d and I guess I liked it too.<\/p>\n
Dad walked back over to his office and sat in his chair. The TV was still making sounds and pictures. A talking tiger was telling a woman with an apron in a kitchen to buy cereal. Then two kids were running across a kitchen floor and there were brown spots from their shoes but a woman cleaned it up and was happy. Then there were lots of shiny cars all in rows and one man stood in the middle and was talking to the sky. It all seemed so different and far away from what was outside our house or anywhere I\u2019d ever been.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoop\u201d, dad said from his chair at his desk. \u201cYou okay if we turn the TV off for now? I\u2019ve got some papers to grade and it\u2019s distracting!\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to try turning it off yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded again.<\/p>\n
I walked up to the thing sitting there on top of the white table. Behind the voices and other sounds coming out of it I could hear a low hum somewhere behind those other sounds. Since dad said it \u201cused electricity\u201d and that was something to be careful of, I wasn\u2019t sure what my fingers would feel when I touched the knob. But he said I could turn it off so I figured it would be okay, but still.<\/p>\n
I touched the small knob with one finger. It just felt like other plastic things I played with. Then I touched it with two fingers and turned the knob and the voices got really loud, and it surprised me.<\/p>\n
Dad laughed, \u201cWrong way. Turn it the other way to turn it off!\u201d<\/p>\n
I used my two fingers again and turned it the other way. There was a click and the voices and noises stopped, and then the hum stopped. The glass part went back to a small white square that got smaller and smaller until I couldn\u2019t see it any more.<\/p>\n