A Sharp Memory

It was a weekly event.

Every Saturday morning, all the kids in the neighborhood, including myself, gathered at the living room of my grandfather’s house to watch Maskman (a Japanese Super Sentai series similar to Bioman and Power Rangers). Just like every other kid there, I grew up in a poor family and my grandfather was the only one in the complex with a television set. I remember that the brand of the TV was Sharp. And that it was black-and-white — oh I certainly remember that.

While many households elsewhere were already using color TV sets, we watched a children’s show which heavily used color — the lead characters (Red Mask, Blue Mask, Yellow Mask, etc) were clad in distinct colored costumes — on a black-and-white TV. It was confusing at first but we later on got the hang of it by remembering the different shades of gray instead. (Hmm, no wonder bluish gray is my favorite color!) After every viewing, my cousins and I would bug our lolo to replace his TV with a new colored set but he would always respond with “Why would I buy a new one when this one still works perfectly fine?” He said that he would only replace it when it stops to function well. And boy did we wait a long, long, loooong time.

That television set was so sturdy that it was still working impressively after so many years. We watched other color-heavy action series on that black-and-white TV from Shaider to Koseidon, from Fiveman to Power Rangers. Our small village had started to prosper and some of our neighbors already got their own color TV sets but my lolo still would not buy a new one because it was still working fine. My parents bought our own TV set when I was about to graduate from Grade School and even when I already started High School, that Sharp TV remained the centerpiece of the living room of my lolo’s house. He just couldn’t let go. And why would he?

The thought of just how fast time flies still blows me away. It’s been almost 20 years since my cousins and other kid neighbors gathered in front of that TV to watch a kiddie show. Yet, change seems to zoom just as fast. My lolo’s old house is completely unrecognizable now after a major renovation and probably every household in our municipality now enjoys watching their favorite shows in full color and some on a big, flat screen. Still, there are those who still hang on to what’s precious to them for years despite the advent of better technologies. Like my lolo. He kept that old black-and-white wonder for reasons that may be practical or sentimental or both.  But just by holding it dear to him, it has become a cradle of wonderful memories; and for that, my cousins and I continue to treat that TV set a treasure. Our family still keeps that thing even up to now.

I can’t believe it’s been 20 years.

Which brings me to this: The reason I shared this bit of my childhood is that Sharp is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Yep, they’re celebrating Sharp 100 years! And they’re giving away lots of their products and — wait for it — a trip for 2 to the US West Coast! All you need to do is share your most memorable Sharp moment on their website: https://share.sharp100years.com/

Here are more details:

#Sharp100 Promo Mechanics

#Sharp100 Promo Details

Interested? Head over to the #Sharp100 website to get started: https://share.sharp100years.com/

And, good luck!

Comments

  1. idol, why don’t you design a logo for your site? napansin ko kasi sa bookmarks tab ko dito sa browser, yung site mo lang ang walang thumbnail. i think it would be cool if there’s that logo that brands you. 🙂

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