TV

(Please click on the title for a reading aloud by the author.)

Years ago we were talking about traveling by motorcycle and the relative merits of camping and staying in motels. Schmidt said, “My idea of roughing it is a motel with black & white TV.” I was a proponent of camping and thought he was a wuss (discretion being the better part of valor, I kept this to myself). I also love to mention I have never owned a TV as it always gets a rise out of people, so probably sprung that one on Schmidt. The truth however is that I am not pure.

Many summers ago I took off on das motorrad to visit Kipper who lived near Lake Tahoe. I’d never been there, and we had some girl chasing and beer drinking to catch up on. There was primo southwestern countryside to explore between here and there, so I packed my tent and sleeping bag and all my camping paraphernalia.

After getting the usual crack of noon start I rode well into the evening and ended up somewhere in southeastern Utah. It was getting on toward dark, I was whooped and the prospect of sleeping on the ground didn’t strike me as enticing. So, I decided to stay at the mom & pop motel which handily presented itself on the horizon. Lo and behold, in the room was a TV (color no less). I turned the thing on and watched the first episode of a Masterpiece Theatre on PBS. It was a good show.

The next day dawned sunny and warm and after some breakfast, I got on the road. It was a glorious day of riding, covering some amazing country across Utah and heading for Route 50, “the loneliest road in America.” By the end of a full day in the saddle I was tired and the thought of sleeping on the ground wasn’t any more appealing than the night before. And there… was a little motel. Well, what the heck… plus there was the next episode of Masterpiece Theatre… I pulled in and checked in and after some dinner got myself settled in front of the tube. The second episode didn’t disappoint.

The next night on the road, somewhere in Nevada… yep, you guessed it. My tent and gear, all the way to Tahoe and all the way back never came out of the sacks. And I don’t even bother bringing that stuff any more. I got some TV to watch.

Gordon Bunker