Remember the black and white TV

Today, I had the opportunity to visit Dat's house, a colleague of mine, to celebrate his housewarming. Entering the newly furnished house of the couple, I saw that the decoration of the house was somewhat modern, very old, and clean. But what impressed me was probably the room arranged on the side of the house, where he dedicated to displaying old objects such as: a black and white TV from the late 80s, a radio, a discolored wooden table and chairs, or a discolored thermos... Those images reminded me of a time when I used to "watch" the neighbor's TV as a child.

At that time, among the simple brick houses, Mr. Lanh's house in my neighborhood stood out. Not because of its grandeur, but because his house had a black and white TV, sent back by his daughter who was studying abroad in Russia.

I still remember clearly, it was a Samsung Deluxe black and white with a convex screen, 14 inches. The TV had 1 channel switch and 3 knobs for on, off, volume up and down. On the back of the TV there were also 3 similar knobs and an antenna. At that time, the TV was considered a valuable asset that everyone dreamed of.

The day Mr. Lanh brought the black and white TV home, the whole neighborhood came to watch. Everyone asked him to touch the TV with the hope that one day they would be able to buy a TV like it.

Since he got the TV, Mr. Lanh's house has become much more bustling, always packed with people. There were days when there was no place to sit, many latecomers had to stand and watch through the window.

Occasionally, a light breeze would blow by, causing interference on the screen, so Mr. Lanh’s son would climb up to the ceiling to adjust the antenna. Below, Mr. Lanh’s familiar voice could be heard: “Turn it a little more to the right. Too much, turn it back a little, to the left, more, more. Okay. Okay.”

People's lives in those days were still difficult and deprived. They mainly listened to news and weather information on the radio, so if anyone in the neighborhood had a black and white TV, the whole neighborhood was happy.

Every day, at exactly 7pm, the children in the neighborhood like me would go to Mr. Lanh’s house to watch the show “Little Flower” - a show that most children at that time loved. Although the broadcast time was only 30 minutes, but if we ate dinner late and our parents did not let us go, we would feel restless. So, every afternoon, I helped my mother cook so that I could go with my friends to watch the show early, to get good seats.

Back then, the variety of programs on air was not as diverse as it is now, but that was enough to satisfy many people. Every time we finished watching, there were stories and discussions about the ending of the characters in the show, and hating this person, that person...

Or like the days when watching Vietnamese football matches. The summer weather is hot and sweaty, but the sound of applause, cheers, and shouts still resound throughout the village. Many times, when the match is exciting and thrilling, somewhere there is a voice calling for husbands and children to come home to eat, to feed the pigs... The wives are still arguing with each other, if they don't see their husbands, they just go to Mr. Lanh's house to look for them, at this time they can only go there. Thinking back, it's both fun and funny...

Nowadays, living conditions are much more developed, smart and modern TVs are updated every day. It is normal for every family to own a big screen TV with advanced technology. Broadcast programs are increasingly rich in genres and diverse in content... However, the image of the black and white TV from that day is always present in my memory, as well as the children of that time.

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