Stereo

Last weekend, I moved to another apartment. When I first arrived in Houston, I assumed I would only stay for a year and therefore never bought a stereo (system) but only a small crank radio. With last week’s move and two more years to go in Houston, I decided that this was the right time to buy a stereo.

A stereo is something I grew up with. The first person at my parent’s house to wake up would turn on the light and next turn on the stereo. It would be odd when the radio was not on. Usually the cable had no signal or, rarely, the stereo was broken. In those days there were numerous songs about ‘Listen to the radio’ like:
Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio
Dolly Dots - Radio

After I got a few spare keys for my new apartment, my first stop was Sears. Nearly all the isles were filled with televisions, home theatre sets and cell phones. In a rather dim lit isle at the rear of electronic department, I could find four stereo systems, without any description whatsoever. The sales assistant told me that the one I would like to have, wasn't in stock and had to be ordered. I thought: “That’s why these guys are soon out of business”. The next stop was Best Buy. This store was better lit, but not even one stereo. I could only find more televisions, home theatre sets and iPods. That’s when I realized that the stereo systems are things from the past and iPods are the future.

The fights I had with my sister over which radio station to select are history as well because everyone has his/her own iPod with the stereo headphones. How does the breakfast table look like, today? Does everyone listen to their own iPod and not talk to each other? Do I now sound like one of the two old guys (Statler and Waldorf) in the balcony in the Muppet show?

BTW: I still don’t have a stereo.