The TV that wouldn't die.

When I was about 18...I bought a TV. At the time, I was determined to move out and get my own place and since we lived in the boonies and only got one channel - I decided the first thing I was going to do when I moved out was call up the cable company and thus, I needed a TV. I went to Costco and bought a 19 inch Sharp TV for $89. Much to hub's dismay, that tv still works and has an awesomely clear picture - even though it's 14 years old. We have it in our office and I use it at least once a day during Adam's naptime. Hubs would love for something to happen so we could get a nice flat screen tv for that room - but I refuse to buy anything until that TV takes it's last breath. It's sort of like an old friend to now.

Almost all the buttons are pushed in, so if we lose the remote, we're screwed (I think hubs has tried to hide it a few times), although Adam can reach the power button inside, and so he's the only one who can turn it on without the remote, ha!

Unfortunately, the holes where the buttons used to be have recently because a problem. You see, a while ago, hubs and I bought the game Guitar Hero. Complete with two guitars, a drum set and a microphone (don't you all want to come to MY house and par-tay???). Adam immediately took the drum sticks and has since become quite the little drummer boy beating on anything and everything he can. The drumsticks are carried around often...and have traveled in the car with us, and to the store with us...and even once kept with him during a nap.

Well, one day - I was in the kitchen and I heard AJ in the office getting frustrated with something. I left it alone until the whining turned to crying and when I went in there he had his finger in the power button hole and I thought "omigod he got his finger stuck!" but nope, that wasn't it. He kept crying and pointing at the tv and putting his finger in the hole...and I finally bent down and looked in there and saw the end of a drumstick. He put a friggin DRUMSTICK through the power button hole in our tv. First of all, I was amazed that he even got the whole thing in there....I mean, those things are pretty long (I measured later, and they are 15 inches long!) - but secondly, I tried and tried to get that sucker out, and Adam was crying and pitching a fit the whole time - absolutely devastated that his precious drumstick was stuck inside the tv. I got to giggling about it, as I was trying to get it out, and even called hubs at one point to tell him which was funny because I was laughing so hard I could barely talk, and he could hear Adam having a bloody FIT in the background. It was crazy hilarious. The first thing out of hub's mouth was "Does the TV still work?" and I said "Yup!" and he goes "Are you kidding me? He shoved that whole thing in there and didn't hit anything important? UNBELIEVABLE!" hee!

I put some tape over the hole and left it at that...smirking about my TV's nine lives. The other day though, I heard a familiar frustration whine coming from my kid - and as I walked into the office (which is right off the living room) I saw that he had gotten the tape off and proceeded to shove yet ANOTHER drumstick into the power button hole. Only this time, after much determination and a tantruming toddler banging his head on the carpet...I still couldn't get the darn thing out. It's IN there. I am afraid I'm gonna have to take the TV apart to get it out. I don't know if it can survive that....but until then - it STILL WORKS! (and every now and then Adam bends down and puts his eye up to the hole...peering in for his beloved drumstick - ha!)