The phone rang early the other day, it was my Mom, there was a problem with the TV, your Father has the flu, and you know how he loves his TV. The “I’ve been on the phone to the help center, but somehow it’s just gotten worse, and I can’t see the buttons on the clicker… can you come over and do you think you can fix it” required a quick response.
Us to the rescue… well more him, then me… I still can barely work our own TV. All for rescuing MIL’s in need he said he would give it a try.
First question from the us, the TV emergency response team, was did you change the batteries in the clickers?
Oh yes, indeed, they did, and they were from a new package.
Good, then let’s diagnose this problem.
My parents are from a generation before computers, and color TV’s, this is not second nature for them.
The current bothersome TV is from a different planet than the rest of us.
Dad’s vote from his sick chair, was to toss the 3 year old TV, “since they have never been able to get it to work properly, and go out and get a new one.” Translation, his inability to hear it when it’s blaring has nothing to do with needing a hearing aid.
If you’re throwing it out, I’m first in line.
My Mom’s solution was to “just turn it off, and let it cool down, your Father always has it on, that’s the problem.”
40 minutes later waiting for the help center, during which time my parents alternated giving advice, and arguing over which battery was smaller a AA or a AAA, a very patient technician finally picked up the phone. First question was “have you changed the batteries in the clicker. Each solution he suggested was tried with no avail, until he asked for the 3rd time, are the batteries OK.
“No they are fine, they said they just changed them.”
Please try and change them again he begged.
It worked. Thank goodness.
Turns out the package was out dated, and the new batteries were accidentally mixed up with those that were old.
The ride home was mostly a silent one, thoughts of getting older swirling in our heads, we know it’s going to come, and when it does will we know it, and what will we be like, and who is going to fix the TV clicker then?
I have no idea, I guess all we can do is brace ourselves, and make sure the batteries are fresh.