In the early 1990s, growing up in Lagos Nigeria, the television in vogue was the black and white television. The black and white television shows moving images in the shade of grey and white. This implies that a woman wearing a pink gown and a blue hat may appear to be wearing a white gown and a black hat. As funny as this may sound, the black and white television was the greatest household item of the early 1990s in my part of the world.
It may interest you to know that only a few wealthy family in the neighbourhood could afford the black and white television. Since my parents were not wealthy, my sisters and I would go to the homes of neighbours to watch the wonder of the time, the black and white television. The sitting rooms of the few homes which had the black and white television were usually as crowded as Mecca.
The Missing Wallet
During one of my visits to the home of a neighbour to watch the black and white television, I was carelessly accused of stealing a missing wallet. It was a traumatic experience. I declared my innocence but the owner of the missing wallet would not listen, would not believe me.
My dad was quite unhappy when he heard the accusations levied against me. Although he had no doubts about my innocence, he barred my sisters and I from going to the homes of neighbours to watch the black and white television. The woman who accused me of stealing her wallet would eventually find it and apologize, but my dad refused to lift his ban.
A Brand New Black and White Television
In 1996, my dad took a loan from work to buy our first black and white television. We could not hold back our joy. We were happy that, at least, we needed not to leave home before we could catch the thrills of the black and white television.
Although my dad drafted some unwritten constitution to guide when and how our black and white television should be operated, we were still happy. As kids, what could be greater than the joy of having to sit down on a mat, legs stretched out, to watch the Tom and Jerry or Scooby Doo? I would watch the 1998 world cup on our black and white television and the experience was, to be candid, marvellous.
The only constant thing in life is change.
- Heraclitus
What Lessons Have I Learnt Over the Years?
Each time I sit in my living room to watch a football match, gaze fixed at my Samsung smart TV pinned to the wall, my mind usually goes back to my childhood years. And I realize that the only permanent thing in life is change. The fashion of one age is the thrash of another age. The king of today may become the slave of tomorrow. Why be proud? Why feel so important? Life is like a black and white television, nothing lasts forever!
The Steemit Blockchain Memory Project is a project aimed at sharing some of your memories whether good or bad on Steemit, Give it a try and let the memory be retained for your kids, and kid's kids!
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