We didn’t have a licence.
I used to live right bang in the centre of London, where life was far, far more interesting than investing in and switching on a Zombie Box. So that never happened. However, from time to time we would receive a buzz on the intercom to our almost top floor flat, and the conversation would go something like this:
‘Is this the occupier of flat number 24?’
‘Yes.’
‘This is the TV Licence inspector. We can see from our records that you don’t have a TV Licence.’
‘No, we don’t have a licence.’
Can we come in?’
‘Nope.’
‘You could be fined or prosecuted for watching TV without a licence.’
‘We know.’
Eventually, we would update them. Since their last visit, nothing’s changed; we still don’t have a TV Licence, and in some last attempt at hope; that it might help them to understand things a little better, we would also add that we didn’t have:
A licence to sell fireworks.
A helicopter licence.
A licence to sell liquor.
A licence to open a night club.
A licence to run a minicab service.
A licence to run a pet shop.
A licence to run a betting shop.
No, we don’t have a licence for a TV.
Then we’d turn them away.
Assumptions can be made too quickly. People strive to find similarities and patterns in everything, try to assume that we are the same. I suppose it’s what we humans do as a way to connect. So when something doesn’t fit, we try desperately to make it fit, instead of stepping back and considering, should I re-shape my pattern of thinking, and not the pattern itself?
Some people cannot make sense of others stepping away from the ‘norm’. Of course, everybody has a TV? Right?
Well, no, not everybody.
We have a Zombie Box now, though. Can’t turn The Zombies away. The Zombies always get you in the end.
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Made me laugh!!
So glad it did! We need some humour in these troubled times xx
I guess some people just can’t imagine life without a TV, you’re quite right, assumptions are made. 🙂
Yes, and I guess we’ve all made assumptions somewhere throughout our lives, so no holier than thou here, just an observation with a smile. 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting! x
How true! We’re in that weird gray area that has a television, but no cable or satellite. Any time we’re in an electronics store we’re approached by someone about cutting our cable bill in and half. When we say we have no cable, we get…how to put it…blinked at. It’s like people can’t comprehend NOT being inundated by a zombie-creating nonsense.
I also like your point about thinking outside the norm. This is something I still struggle with, especially as my therapist has recommended making new friends because…okay, because I don’t have enough physical friends to offset the number of online friends? … Yeah, I inwardly rolled my eyes at that one. But I HAVE tried, dammit, to think that people around me aren’t just obsessed with American football, hunting, and reality tv (which, I think, can include politics). So far, I have not been disproven. Rather disheartening, I admit.
So I’m going to say it’s nice to know YOU, and I shan’t hold your online-ness against you. 🙂
HeHe! I am rolling my eyes with you. It’s seems acceptable to passively watch lots of trivia on TV yet online friendships which are far more interactive than any TV could achieve is questioned? And I agree it is not always easy to find friends (making ‘surface’friendships is easy), who you click with and can have meaningful conversations, so I say, when we do find someone -online, physical, who cares?- we should embrace it. I believe there are people out there that are ‘just right’ for the way that we think but what are the physical chances of finding them in a population of 6 Billion? Until physicists master the art of teleportation, online is going to be the quickest way, even though the odds are only a little better than the physical.
Likewise, it is definitely nice to know you too and (hehe), pleased my online status hasn’t turned you away! 😀