“Silence is golden,” so the saying goes. I have come to believe that is very true, part of that decision being my free opinion and part of it coming from something that has been forced upon me. What has been forced upon me is a gradual loss of hearing that has taken place over the last three or four years. At first, that was an annoyance, an interference to conversation and a drawback in getting information from meetings and such. That problem has been lessened by hearing aids.

That leaves the portion that has been my decision. For about six or seven years I have been without TV. The last year or so I’ve been listening a lot less to the radio as well and for the last several months I’ve listened to it hardly at all. I still have CD’s, DVD’s, and VCR’s and I make use of them, borrowing, renting or buying them. I use the CD’s to play my two favorite kinds of music—classical and folk. But I don’t know much about current popular music. That’s kind of gone by the wayside.

The most common question I hear from other people is, “How do you get your news?” I maintain that there isn’t much real news on TV. My daily contact with the internet provides me with headlines and the opportunity to delve deeper into something that interests me. Otherwise, really important news finds its way to me by one means or another. And there are distinct advantages in having no TV. I get a lot of writing and reading done. Curiously, another common comment I get from people is one of agreement. Many people of late have volunteered the information that they no longer find much of interest on TV. Many also complain about the overabundance of commercials. Is there a trend starting?

So far, I’m quite content with my TV-less world. And my house is much quieter. If any of this sounds as if it has some interest for you, why don’t you try it? Join the silence. You might like it.