Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Stair lifts, hearing aids, reverse mortgages, and walk in tubs. Welcome to my world. My TV world. When you watch a lot of TV these are the ads you see. Being retired, I have a lot of time on my hands. A lot of that time is spent in front of my big TV. I don’t mind the senior citizens targeted advertisements, except the ones for final plan insurance. I’m too busy flicking around the channels.

My part time job playing piano only takes up very few hours. There’s still plenty of time for an adequate workout at the gym, a bit of shopping and a trip or two to Dunkies. I just make sure I don’t drive during rush hours.

I find it very enjoyable to watch a lot of TV. In the old days, my mother would never have let me watch as much TV as I do now. Her favorite shows were David Susskind, Perry Mason, and Peyton Place. Perry Mason’s theme song was spooky. I leave my bedroom TV on all night. It’s 2:04 a.m. and I’m watching Elvis Presley in the movie Clambake. Great color.

That’s all I really ever wanted out of life, along with good health and the wellbeing of my family and friends … and food! Food to enjoy while watching TV.

When I was tortured for 12 years in grade school all I dreamed of was playing hooky and watching TV all day. And I did.

Turn the clock back to 1969. I’m 16 years old, in the tenth grade and hating school. I wait for my mother to leave for work at 8:15 and climb up the back porch and into the house (I didn’t want to be seen going in the front door by a nosy neighbor who might rat me out to my parents!).

Then it was TV time! Daytime TV rocked. I watched The Beverly Hillbillies, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, That Girl, Let’s Make a Deal, The Newlywed Game, and Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. Today, not much has changed. I have complete seasons of F-Troop, I Dream of Jeannie, The Odd Couple, and others on DVD. Thanks to ME-TV, I can still watch a lot of my favorite old shows like Leave it to Beaver.

Match Game is on the Game Show network like five times a day. That show really takes me back. I have a friend who has not missed an episode of General Hospital in 30 years.

I don’t watch too many new shows. I got tired of The Goldbergs quickly. I was never big on The Big Bang Theory. I enjoy the NFL Network, NESN and ESPN. Raymond’s grumpy wife is back in a new series. I’ll pass.

When we were kids we had great locally produced shows like Major Mudd, Bozo and Boomtown. How cool would it be to be able to watch some of those old shows, especially if you were on one.

The old standbys are still around like Friends, Seinfeld and of course The Three Stooges. Old friends that you can always count on.

I may be taking some time off from writing this weekly column. Stay well my friends.