Last night I finally gave up and turned on the AC. I was sweating in the humidity which made little sense so on went the AC, and within a short time both Gracie and I were nice and cool. Today is much the same as yesterday though the humidity is a bit lower: no clouds, no possibility of rain, but my resistance is also lower so the AC may be on shortly.
I was awake until four this morning. It was just one of those can’t get to sleep nights. I went upstairs at two after having watched Carrier, a series about an aircraft carrier in the Gulf in 2008. I watched two installments. The pickings for TV watching are lean in the wee hours. Syfy was offering sharks again, but I just couldn’t face the two-headed shark and Sharknado again with all the craziness and mayhem. Given the choices, Carrier was pretty interesting.
When I was young, all the channels stopping airing around midnight. Each had a different sign off but each sign off included the national anthem. One channel had the Blue Angels flying in formation and doing maneuvers while the anthem playing in the background. I remember the trails of smoke behind the planes as they turned in unison, an image that has stuck in my head all these years. I also remember when the anthem was finished. The test pattern then took over for the rest of the night into the late morning. The pattern which sticks in my head was the Indian wearing a full headdress. He was at the top of circles and boxes which I guess was the actual test pattern. I never thought about those test patterns. I just figured they were there to fill the empty spaces where programs should be. Come to find out they were meant to help calibrate and align the cameras.
TV never goes off now, but I still feel a bit of nostalgia about the Indian. Given a preference, I’d choose that or any test pattern over the infomercials which crowd the airways after midnight. Some of the gimmicks being sold are intriguing, but I haven’t yet been tempted to buy one and get a second free if I just pay shipping and handling!
