Long-Term Committing at 98

Another darn TV Guide renewal notice!

👋 Hello, I’m Kevin Ferguson and welcome to 🍷 Rain on the Monte Bello Ridge,🍷 a memoir about health, aging and winemaking. (Book summary) 🍇 This is my newsletter. It includes book research and early release chapters about winemaker Mario Gemello and his centenarian widow, Kay Gemello. 📖 They are my lovable maternal grandparents. You can subscribe by clicking on this handy little button.

Here’s a middle chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

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Long-Term Committing at 98

My grandfather throughout his eighties used to joke that he had stopped buying green bananas. He got a lot of mileage out of that joke, dying at 89. That was 2005.

He’s always remained in our thoughts, especially when something funny happens among our family members. We’d often say, “if only Grandpa was here to see this…”

One prime example was a few years ago. His widow, Grandma Kay, at age 98, was feeling upbeat and productive. After checking her mail, she responded to a TV Guide renewal reminder. Writing a check and sticking it back in the mail. That payment extended her subscription to a fifth year. 

It came to light one day when she was scanning through the magazine and discovered a programming error that rattled her.

“Chicago PD is not on!” She cradled the magazine in her lap, while seeing an unfamiliar reality TV show on the screen.

It was as if she’d never seen a mistake in her beloved TV Guide. She’d been a loyal subscriber for six decades.

While many of us have gotten into the habit of checking TV programming on the guide on our actual television screen, or watch a show when its most convenient for our schedule through streaming, that idea is still foreign to Grandma Kay.

She watches TV old-school. By scheduling her day and night around a network show’s original time slot. Therefore, TV Guide has remained her Bible.

This may not be too unusual for a segment of baby boomers and older. TV Guide still has a million subscribers,¹ but that’s a far cry from the 20 million households that received the magazine in its heyday.²

I tried to simplify Grandma Kay’s TV watching habit by teaching her to click on the “Guide” button on the TV remote.

“See, everything in your TV Guide is right there on the screen,” I said. “And it’s more up-to-date.”

“See, everything in your TV Guide is right there on the screen,” I said. “And it’s more up-to-date.”

She stared at the black screen with eight rows of white text. A glazed look washed over her.

“”It’s too busy. I don’t need all that stuff.”

“The problem with the TV Guide is that it was printed two weeks ago, Grandma.”

“That’s ridiculous! I’m never renewing this ever again,” she said, flapping her TV Guide in the air.

“Can I see it?” The evidence was right there. On the mailing label. Expires in 2024. Five years from the day of that conversation.

Peeking at her mail for now on was just one more delicate dance for us to help her feel she’s maintaining some sort of independence in her centennial years.

If only Grandpa was here to share his take.

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1.  Magazine Media archive, 6/30/20

2.  “TV Guide Magazine Is Still Here, and Is Doing Just Fine,” Folio Magazine, 3/14/2018