Watching television back in the day and other fun things

        It seems we have 450 television channels and somedays there’s nothing worth watching.
       I do enjoy some of the crime shows, especially the cold case crimes and OP (On Patrol) Live on Friday and Saturday nights.
        I also enjoy some of the oldies such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, the Waltons and the Andy Griffith Show.
In later years, I enjoyed shows like Eight is Enough, Vegas, Incredible Hulk, Little House on the Prairie, CHiPs, Wonder Woman, Bionic Woman and Bionic Man with Lee Majors as Col. Steve Austin.
      There was Police Woman with Angie Dickinson and Stanford and Son, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Brady Bunch, Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas, WKRP in Cincinnati, Fantasy Island, Three’s Company, Beverly Hillbillies, Happy Days, the Love Boat, Columbo, the Equalizer from the 1980s and more.
        Growing up, we had four channels to watch – NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS – on the family 19-inch Zenith black and white console. It included modern futures of the time such as a dial to change the channels and push button to switch the television on and off.
         It wasn’t until 1974 that I first got cable television.
        My Tulsa neighborhood was one of the first test markets for cable television in the city. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in junior high school and have cable television. I went from four stations to 32 just like that.
         It cost $5.45 per month and I was billed every two months.
         I used my paper route money to pay the bill.
         Nowadays, it costs 10 times or more a month for all the extras. It is ridiculous.
       And then there is the internet at $120 plus a month and cell phones. How much more can you spend to buy a cell phone? And it’s not just the phone, it’s all the fees to set up a new phone and then the taxes and service fees each month on the bill.
         I don’t know how people afford an apartment, utilities, a car payment, food and a cell phone.
         Anyway, I got to watching golf the other day.
        What better sport to watch on a cold winter day than a round of golf from some summer resort? There can be snow and ice storms, cold blasts, hurricanes and the such. Still, there is a summer paradise tucked away somewhere in the states where professional golf players can hit the greens.
        Some of those fellows are quite good. They might be able to hit the hole standing on their head. How many of you remember Arnold Palmer?
        The first time I tried my hand at playing real golf was in the early 1980s. A good friend of mine and I decided to try our hand at a 9-hole lighted all-night golf course in Tulsa.
         My friend had a set of old golf clubs and we tried our luck. If you call it that.
        I pulled a club out of the bag and proceeded to warm up. I was swinging away when I hit a divot of dirt and slapped this fellow in the head.
         I was apologizing profusely and as he cleaned the dirt away from his shirt.
         I was not only embarrassed, but scared he might take me out before the evening ended.
         I don’t remember my final score. It wasn’t good!
         I’m more keen to playing miniature golf.
        We had several mini golf courses in Tulsa. The most notable were two side-by-side mini courses at Bells Amusement Park at the Tulsa Fairgrounds.
         A visit to Bells on a weekend night was the best.
     There was Zingo, a big wooden roller coaster, built in the mid-to-late 60s. Other rides included the Phantasmagoria, Scrambler, Himalaya, Ferris Wheel, Tilt-a-Whirl, White Lightnin’ (Log Flume) and the mini golf courses.
       My last time playing mini golf was a few years ago at the Lake of the Ozarks with the family. I was leading the pack into the 18th hole, only to miss the mark and finish in fourth or fifth place.
       I also enjoyed playing pinball. There was a pool hall across the street from my boyhood home in Tulsa. I enjoyed spending time with my Uncle Ron playing pinball. He was quite good.
       Back in the day, I used to enjoy bowling. My Aunt Alice, my mom’s younger sister, taught me the sport at age 12.
        I participated in several leagues through the years, giving it up in the mid-1980s. I joined a league at Star Lanes in Montezuma in August 2015.
       I bowled there for one year, then moved to Grinnell for one year. I finally gave up the ghost and the sport, at least for now.
         I don’t hunt, but I do enjoy fishing.
         I haven’t been fishing in years. I have a nice rod and reel and I’m sure before long, the fish will be biting.
         Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.