Tape delayed

9/10/09 Four blank videocassettes, donated to Guy E. Rowe Elementary School

Today I did something utterly radical and terrifying.

At least for me.

I took every single blank VHS tape I owned (turns out there were four), trucked them to school, and donated them to the shelf where our AV equipment is housed. (In public education, such antiques are not only still used, but often in short supply.)

Giving away these tapes was not emotionally easy. What if I need to tape a TV show? We don't have TiVo, folks. We ain't got no DVR. This is the Great White North. If I don't catch a show live, there's a chance my window of opportunity has closed forever.

Well, as they sing in old movies, "Que Sera, Sera."

Actually, I see it as an interesting moment in the history of technology. In my lifetime, VHS overtook Betamax, became the entertainment centerpiece of every American household, and then slowly slid into obsolescence. Oh, how the mighty fall. (By the way, check out this cool Visual History of Video Recorders. Makes me long for the good ol' days.)

My camcorder records on HD tapes and my computer burns DVDs, so I must admit that the recordable VHS cassettes really serve no purpose. I haven't taped a show since I was really into My Name is Earl over a year ago, so these are just plastic paperweights, taking up valuable oxygen space.

And so, I'm letting go. It's not without trepidation that I shall try to live without this little safety-net, forever in fear that some important TV event will happen when I can't be there to see it live.

But, please understand, that if I can't be home for some serious Must-See TV, I'm calling you up, and you better TiVo it for me.