Tuning Out: Imagine Your Life Without A Television Could You Survive Without That Nightly Dose From The Tube?

Picture this: “Suzie” climbs off the school bus and runs home, book bag jostling on her back, just in time to grab a Twinkie from the cupboard and plop down in front of the “Jetsons,” then the “Pink Panther,” then, let’s see … what’s next? Oh well! She knows the order by heart.

Dad comes in at five from a long day at the office to watch Dan Rather reel off the news. “Full House” acts the perfect family during dinner of Swanson’s microwaveable mac and cheese. Sound like a typical family evening?

For most American families, the TV is an escape into another world of gorgeous people who solve problems with free sex, Maybelline makeup, family satire and Schwarzenegger semi-automatics. But let’s get real. Free sex has consequences, real men can’t bench like Schwarzenegger and real women don’t look like Cindy Crawford. The picture of life that Hollywood has created for Americans is distorted.

Unfortunately, it sits in virtually every house in America and is almost more common than a refrigerator.

I grew up without a television, and strange to many people, I did not get bored. I discovered my own world, not Hollywood’s.

My family was interactive, for better or for worse. Life was different! Instead of fighting over “The Power Rangers” or “90210,” my brothers and I fought over who got to read the next chapter out loud from J.R. Tolkien’s “Lord Of The Rings” or who got to play catch with Dad. When friends came over, they were surprised to find no TV, but had a blast anyway playing Sardines in the dark.

Yes, there are some classic shows out there. But the way I feel right now, I wouldn’t want a television when I have kids of my own. Even with the best programs, you’re entertained by someone else’s imagination, not your own.

My brothers and I did not watch “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” on Saturday mornings. We built forts with mom’s ironing boards, the pingpong table and every blanket in the house. We made Lego trains 10 cars long and houses in the backyard made of grass left over from the last mowing. We played hide and seek when Dad came home from work and helped Mom make dinner, usually by spilling water all over the table.

Have I ever yearned for a TV? Not really. We rent or borrow a TV and VCR for Christmas holidays or events like the Olympics. It’s a special deal, not just a black box spewing Pepsi advertisements into our living room every day.

There’s a lot of trash out there, but we try to stick to watching the classic movies as a family. We’ve watched great stories like “Chariots of Fire,” side-splitting romances like “The Princess Bride,” and all-out hilarious scenes in “What About Bob?” On Super Bowl Sunday, we go to our friends’ house to watch the game. It’s a treat for us, not something we gorge out on every night.

A part of childhood is lost with a TV continually blabbing in the background. It’s a convenient babysitter for a lot of kids today. School work doesn’t get done and Oprah is listened to more often than Mom and Dad. Kids idolize Cindy Crawford more than they look up to Mother Teresa, and they live for “The Power Rangers” instead of wishing they knew Martin Luther King. It doesn’t take Einstein (no, not the movie) to figure out that Hollywood has influenced the American lifestyle and value system.

Did I miss out on something growing up without a TV? Possibly, but the big picture was a little clearer without an antenna to adjust it. I didn’t get slimed with alien values straight from “Hollyweird,” but absorbed classic books and family time that played a part in my life’s screenplay.

Instead of watching actors live life for you, stop being a spectator and take part in life! There are better things to do than sit on the couch with a bag of bon-bons watching the “Days of Our Lives” slip by. Start by turning off the TV after school. Learn how to sail like Bob did, or fence like Indigo Montoya. Play the lead role in your own life’s adventure series.