No SportsCenter? Get out the rake, then a fishing pole

I realized the time was right when my 3-year-old pulled up a chair to a bowl of cold cereal and said "part of this complete breakfast."

So last week, I said goodbye to an old friend — my television.

Not the box itself. That still sits in our living room — a dark, cavernous reminder of the prime kind of TV service we'd become accustomed to. The kind that provides baseball highlights on a 24-hour loop, at least a dozen shows about cakes and a guy traveling the world eating bats and insects.

It's all gone, at least until the kickoff of college football season, which right now seems about as near as time travel.

For years, my wife has encouraged me to adopt a tradition from her extended family. Every summer, the Williamses turn their television sets toward the wall.

The objective is to get the children outside while the weather is good; to encourage family time that involves games, books and interaction; to quell noise and conjure up conversation.

It will be good for us. Kind of like green beans, which I like very much.

The problem is, I'm used to the junk food-like presence of the TV. So shutting it off and shutting it out is jarring to the system.

Especially that first night, which was awfully quiet. No sporting event to watch, and no SportsCenter in the background feeding live scores like an IV. I even missed seeing Chicago clinch the Stanley Cup.
In this case, progression feels a little like regression. I half expect our next stack of mail to be delivered by the Pony Express.

I still have access to all the information I want and when I want it. What’s missing is the noise coming from that colorful flashing box.
And that will be a good thing — once we get used to it.

It hasn't taken long to realize how much television competes for our attention; how it pulls kids away from the dinner table, steps in between quiet moments and lulls us away from playing and working together.

Yes, I miss TV. And one day, we'll plug back in again.

In the meantime, there's yard work to do, quick fishing trips to take and five books in the "Chronicles of Narnia" left to read.

It will be a good plate of green beans for our family. Hopefully we'll all learn to eat — I mean, watch — in moderation.

And maybe now our 3-year-old will stop walking around the house saying: "Only 19.95. Order now!"

e-mail: ashill@desnews.com