Satellite Dish

In the early 80's, satellite dishes were the coolest thing in Breathitt County.  Everyone seemed to have one, except for my family.  We were stuck watching a snowy PBS channel for the longest time since that was the only channel we got.  My favorite shows were Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (yes, sadly), Reading Rainbow, and Mystery Theatre because Vincent Price was the host.  I also Loved the movie "Anne of Green Gables".  I related so well with Anne walking home from school.

My parents had tried to order a satellite dish before.  However, the company would not install it because we were too "far out" in the holler.  They said we would never get a signal.  We were so disappointed.  Everyone in the hollers of Breathitt County could get a signal but not us?? It didn't seem fair.

Then, low and behold, in the summer of 1985, we finally got our satellite dish!! A new company came to Jackson and they were eager for our business. I jumped for joy the day it was delivered. Finally we could watch TV like normal people.

Our satellite was "cooler" than most. :-) Unlike the normal boring, white fiberglass satellite dishes, ours was black with mesh netting. We also got a remote box since they had to place the satellite dish high upon the hillside.  Most people had to go outside to crank the dish manually.  Daddy cut many trees and made a clearing for our new family member, "Satellite", to sit.  When my mom switched satellites on the remote box, I remember running outside to see if I could see the satellite dish move.

Suddenly, life was good.  Mommy watched TV all day long.  Daddy always had her searching for a Western channel or a western show somewhere out there on one of those satellites.  My mom was the Queen of the remote! She knew every channel on every satellite, from "G4" to "S1", there were so many to choose from.  I don't think she even let me touch the remote or change channels for the longest time. My job was to make homemade popcorn every night.  That's right...homemade popcorn - popcorn made in a pot, not a microwave, with lots of lard and butter!!!  Besides, we never owned a microwave. My parents didn't even get one until around 1999.

About 6 months into having our satellite dish, we started noticing that there were less and less clear channels.  Most of them had been scrambled by the networks.  There were lots of hoopla over satellite dishes, most of which I never understood at the time.  Turns out the networks were losing lots of money because people with satellite dishes were "stealing".   We didn't know it was "stealing".  We were just so happy to get to watch more channels on our TV. 

Soon the satellite era was disappearing.  By the time I went off to college, there were very few unscrambled channels left on the satellite dish.  My parents debated about keeping the satellite when they moved into the log cabin.  There was gossip and other tricks to get you to buy the infamous "black box" that would descramble the channels.  Some people bought into it just to find out later that the channels would end up scrambling all over again.  My parents never went for the black box. They instead was able to get a cable box and a subscription provided by some of the satellite and network companies.

I think about those scrambled channels when I am stressing or get bad news.  My mind tends to drift.  I panic.  Like those scrambled channels, I can't seem to focus.  With all the stress in our nation and in mine and my family and friends' lives, I realize that many things are beyond mine or anyone else's control.  From health issues, finances, and the state of our nation, there is only one solution - to let go.  Once I pray and surrender the stresses to God, my mind is no longer scrambled. He gets me back on track.  I focus and can see clearly again.

My mom now has two satellite dishes, Dish Network and Hughes Net for the Internet. She is still Queen of the remote and could never go without her TV. I am still not allowed to touch her remote! Strangely, with over 300 channels, she only watches one, Turner Classic Movies (TCM).   She told me recently that she hopes God has TV in Heaven. I imagine He may, without scrambled channels or a subscription you have to pay for. Besides, Jesus already paid the price for it.

God is the DeScrambler of our Lives.