Pretty ColorsWhen a child starts expressing their artistic abilities, it is usually a proud moment for parents. There are those rare times, however, when these “displays” can wreak havoc on the family.
We had been married for a few years, settled into our first home, and had saved enough money to buy our first color television. Oh, it wasn’t a huge set, about 20”, but it was color and after watching a black and white set with rabbit ears, we felt like royalty.
One Saturday afternoon, we were going about our weekend chores. Mike and our son, Chaz, were out in the yard working on the lawn. I was going through the house doing the obligatory sheet changing, laundry and other household duties. Our daughter, Kristen was contently watching her Saturday afternoon cartoons. Things seemed almost too quiet.
Suddenly, Mike returned from the yard and let out a bellow, “Oh my God! Kristen, what are you doing?!” I ran down stairs and passed my husband where he was apparently frozen in shock. Our two-year-old daughter held an industrial strength ceramic magnet in her hand and was “pulling” the red/yellow/green images into large swirls on our new television screen. She looked so pleased with herself! She smiled brightly and uttered one of her new words, “Colors!”
I must admit she had some of the most beautiful patterns moving in the most unique ways that I had ever seen. But, the broadcast images were no longer recognizable. Recovering from his shock, Mike quickly removed the magnet from Kristen’s hand and turned the television off in the hopes that it would “degauss” itself. It didn’t. After several attempts, we got used to the new look. We kept the set for years but always had a large purple spot burned into the forehead of any close up.
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