We didn’t get our first TV until 1960. It had that space command. As a child, I could hear that ping, but it wasn’t unpleasant. When you pinged it, the prede

We didn’t get our first TV until 1960. It had that space command. As a child, I could hear that ping, but it wasn’t unpleasant. When you pinged it, the predecessor of a stepping motor actually rotated the mechanical channel selector. Or, a relay cut off the sound. The TV was black and white, and it was horrible. The humidity of NYC soon rendered the TV tuner very touchy: it was an art to fine- tune channels manually at the TV and this rendered the channel clicker useless. The synch circuit was also unreliable and given to long bouts of screen rolling. But on that TV, I watched the 1960, 61, and 62 World Series, which included Bill Mazeroski’s home run which beat the Yankees, and the whole drama surrounding the Kennedy asassination. And most of the Mercury and Gemini launches.