Be kind, rewind

I happened upon a big box in the attic a few days ago and when I opened it I discovered a treasure trove of old kids VHS movies. Remember VHS tapes? I am still rather fond of that medium (don’t even get me started on how tired I am of handling our DVDs like they are made of the finest crystal).    Remember having to tape a show, manually, if you wanted to watch it later? Was I also the only one who had to rent not just movies, but an actual VHS player to watch them? I remember trudging home on Friday nights from Sounds Easy in Provo with one of those big beauties under my arm.

I dug around in one of my closets yesterday until I found a VHS player. Despite being feeble at all things audio/video, I managed to get the player hooked up and popped in one of the movies that India and York loved to watch (P.B. Bear, if you must know.  Kind of cute but has an annoying theme song that plays every five minutes.)  My first clue that VHS movies are not so great after all: I had to REWIND the tape. Boy, I had forgotten all about that. Talk about boring. 

And then the picture was all jiggly and fuzzy-looking. The kids didn’t notice, but then they don’t mind watching a movie on the 5 inch screen in the car either, so they are obviously not too picky.

All in all I just decided to look on ebay for the DVD versions of our old favorites. The VHS tapes will be going to Goodwill after all.

I’m sort of relieved that I don’t like VHS tapes as much as I thought I did. I was starting to sound like one of those annoying people who still won’t give up on records.  (Records! Now that’s a trip down memory lane*. Everyone knows how much better tapes are than records. Duh!)

*The first record I owned was The Game by Queen. The last was The Queen is Dead by the Smiths.  How about you?

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10 thoughts on “Be kind, rewind

  1. THE COMPLETE ORCHESTRAL WORKS OF BORODIN, by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. I loved it when I got it for my birthday 20 years ago, and have never been able to find its equal on CD. It is sitting beside my desk now, waiting to go someplace where they will make a CD from a record.

    Nyah, Nyah! I may DRIVE a white- trash car, LIVE in a white trash basement, but I love GLORIOUSLY EXALTED music that makes me weep with joy. (Queen never made me weep with joy, but it was fun to dance to.)

  2. I had the complete Classical Library on one of my last record purchases.

    And what do you mean, that you don’t use VHS tapes still—I have about 400 of them—and we STILL watch them!

    I know….how will I ever replace them? (sigh)

  3. sounds easy. classic. having lived in provo i know exactly what that is. thanks for the laugh.

    i owned some weird disney record and loved it. it had a hologram on it. every kids dream come true.

  4. The first album I ever got was Fiddler on the Roof, which my cousin gave me after my mom looked high and low for it to give me for Christmas. I still have my Shaun Cassidy record, which I got as a birthday gift. I wasn’t all that interested in him, bacause I watched The Hardy Boys and drooled over Parker Stevenson. Yikes, I’m old!

  5. The first record I remember having was “How Much Is That Doggy In The Window” on a 45 (you know the smaller records). I thought I was something when I got Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler”. I just realized, I’m old too!

  6. My first album was “12 dancing princess'” from my grammie. The first one I bought for myself, was
    “Interpretations of the BeeGees” I remember being DEVASTED when I found out it was instrumental and not really them!

  7. I was going to say my first record was Queen The Game, but then i guess technically it was yours. I also would have said, the single of Wake Me Up Before you Go Go, but that was probably yours too. So I don’t know. Maybe something Michael Jackson?

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