Unknown Channels

Most of the campgrounds where we stay have cable TV hookups. It’s nice to have a reliable signal and the usual array of channels, but it can get boring.

On the rare occasions that we don’t have cable, and are close enough to a real city to pick up over-the-air TV, channel surfing becomes an adventure. You never know what the next click of the remote will bring.

Will it be fake news? Will they be speaking Spanish? Will they be selling something? Will I be entranced or disgusted by that old sitcom? Will they be showing sports that have no business being shown on television? (Seriously people! Professional cornhole?)

While none of this will hold my attention for very long, there are occasional exceptions. One city had a channel that showed movies from the 60’s that I’d never heard of, but were pretty good. Another had music videos that they called country music, but they were good.

The other thing I like is that there are only so many channels available. When you look at streaming channels online, you have thousands of channels, and you can’t surf through them all. You have to figure out what you want to watch before you go looking for it.

With the over-the-air channels, you have to learn to settle, but you end up watching new programs you never knew were out there. It makes watching TV passive again. With my overthinking brain, I need some passive now and then.

Also, I love watching channel 13.7. There's something very retro-cyberpunk about that.