Some of my earliest memories as a kid are watching movies on television with my mom. When I was five, I was watching an old black-and-white movie on our old black-and-white TV. It was a scary movie for me as a five-year-old. I remember hearing the scary music and knowing I would soon see the scary man, then being frightened by the near miss of the fast-speeding car. Around the time our family moved into the new house my dad built, our TV died and it was not replaced.

When I was in first grade, the teacher said anyone needing extra help reading should watch Sesame Street. I was able to go over to a kid in my class’s house to watch this show for extra help. From the time I was about five to twelve, our TV watching stopped. My mom said she was not going to have her kids grow up to be TV idiots. During this time, our home was filled with other activities instead, and our days were busy and loud in different ways.

During those same years, my mom saw an ad in the newspaper that read, “Anyone that is not exposed to watching TV, please let us do a test to see what images affect your emotions.” This was for kids ages eight to twelve and paid ten dollars for the child’s time. My mom responded to the ad. I remember being hooked up to electrodes while we watched short movie clips to see how we reacted. We walked out of the University of Utah ten dollars richer, and my brother and I thought that was amazing.

Then something wonderful happened. My dad was a Salad Master salesman, and he won a black-and-white TV. It felt magical. My parents were very strict about TV viewing, so we didn’t get to watch much. There were Friday night movies that we got to watch as a family. We didn’t get to watch TV on Sundays. Instead, we were told to play a game with a sibling, read a book, or make a treat for the family to eat.

On rare occasions, after a lot of pleading, we were able to watch The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston or The Wizard of Oz. When summer came, Mom said if we hurried really fast and did our chores, we could watch The Big Money Movie or Dialing for Dollars. During these shows, they would give away money if you were called and knew how much money had been collected. It wasn’t much, usually about fifty dollars, but sometimes as much as three hundred. We watched old black-and-white movies, lots of westerns, adventure movies, and sometimes mysteries. During commercials, we watched the money total and hoped we would get called. I think we won fifty dollars once. Two shows my mom would never say no to were The Andy Griffith Show and I Love Lucy. She loved to laugh, and these shows had good values and were funny.

Years later, when I was in ninth grade, we got a color TV. I remember seeing The Wizard of Oz for the first time in color, and we all thought it was amazing. Popcorn and watching old movies were synonymous, going hand in hand. When I was nineteen, I was at a friend’s house watching Leave It to Beaver for the first time. When you don’t have a TV, you miss out on some of the shows other kids grow up with. After my dad died, I went over to my mom’s place every Thursday, and we watched old movies together and old black-and-white TV shows like Gunsmoke or Ironside. Looking back on this part of my life really makes me smile with fondness.

Looking back now, I realize it wasn’t really about television at all. It was about time, attention, and being together. Our house was anything but quiet, full of noise, movement, and life, yet those moments of watching together created a shared pause. My dad loved good movies too, but he was busy working to take care of his family. He had a great laugh, and I can still hear his laughter during the funny moments. My mom’s laughter, the popcorn, the firm rules, and later those Thursday nights after my dad passed all blended into something lasting. Those simple hours in front of a screen became moments of connection, comfort, and love, and they remain some of the warmest memories I carry with me today.