Learning to read ‘As the World Turns’

Everywhere I go I see people staring at screens.

In a restaurant, at a medical office waiting room, even walking down the street, folks can’t keep their eyes off their cellphones. And yours truly is guilty, I admit.

Even in a social gathering, people can’t resist checking their emails, text messages or the latest news/athletic event. Some are even playing video games with a competitor several states away.

We don’t want to say we’re addicted. No way. It’s how we keep up with what’s going on in the community/country/world.

“Has anyone seen my woolly tan labradoodle, Tiffany, with her cute rosy collar? She must have been lured away by that ghoulish pit-mix from the next street over.”

Of course, after reading the social media post you MUST check out the comments below: “I saw a dog matching Tiffany’s description, except this dog looked like it had been dragged through a muddy creek bottom.”

Or, like some people I know who have to check the weather 100 times a day. They take “weather on the ones” literally.

Kids these days may not have their own cell phones. Instead, they’re given tablets.

I’m not talking about the spiral-bound paper notepad. Tablets of today are electronic devices that children can use to play videos, music and games. 

They can even be used for educational purposes. But most kids find that boring.

A tablet is normally larger than a cellphone with a bigger screen to protect those sensitive little eyes. They can do most things a cellphone can do except make phone calls.

A tablet is operated by touchscreen capabilities. That prevents kids from having to learn the use of keyboards, which of course requires knowing how to read.

I’m not knocking tablets for kids, so long as they’re required to spend up to 30 minutes a day doing non-digital activities. Such as shooting those soft toy bullets at the neighbor’s cat.

I can’t criticize today’s children for spending so much time with their tablets. Truth be told, as a boy I spent hours a day in front of a screen.

Our black-and-white console TV was a source of entertainment, information and education. I would lie on the floor with my chin supported by the palms of my hands.

Mama would often remind me, “Don’t get too close to the TV or you’ll ruin your eyes.”

But I had to be close enough to the TV so I could work the dials: Volume, channel, contrast and the one you used to stop the picture from flipping vertically.

I learned my first words on TV, even before I started school. Daytime TV was dominated by soap operas like “The Edge of Night,” “The Secret Storm” and “As the World Turns.”

As a preschooler, I probably didn’t know much about what was going on in the storyline and dialogue. But I could dig the commercials. 

The first words I learned were Tide, All, Fab and Duz. The programs weren’t called soap operas for nothing. 

Thinking back, I was entertained while learning to read. Cartoon shows helped me memorize words like Kellogg’s, Trix, Tang, Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs and Rice Krispies.

But kids shows sometimes offered deals you could send off for. One of those opportunities was presented on a show called Winky Dink and You. 

he idea was to allow children watching the show to become involved, to be interactive with the story. The show offered a kit that contained crayons, a wiping cloth and a piece of vinyl plastic.

The kid would stick the plastic to the TV screen and then use the crayons to draw objects that Winky needed to solve a problem.

I had Mama send off for the kit and waited patiently for it to arrive in the mailbox. On the dramatic day, I opened the package to find the tools I would use to assist Winky in his exploits.

I was able to stick the clear plastic to the TV screen but drawing with the crayons proved problematic. That ended my collaborative efforts with Winky Dink.

From then on, my efforts turned to urging Mama to add Cocoa Puffs to her grocery cart.

Meanwhile, my screen staring has continued to this day.

Larry Penkava is a writer for Randolph Hub. Contact: 336-302-2189, larrypenkava@gmail.com.