Memory #7

I was up "late" one night (late would be around one in the morning when I was around ten or eleven) at Dad's house, and everyone else was asleep except Dad, who was somewhere in the back, working. None of the lights were on in the living room. I was sitting on the ground in front of the TV.

Dad had cable. I never had cable at home.

I turned on the television and started scanning the channels. Gave a couple of seconds of attention to each channel, but nothing held my interest. A cartoon I'd never seen, some movies nobody will ever remember, the news, a variety of equally boring talk shows.

I passed channel 100 and eventually landed on the Howard Stern show. He had two female guests and was talking and joking about their boobs. I was intrigued-- not by boobs, but by this guy with the hair and the headphones and no tact, and by the forbidden aspect of it all. Not quite half a minute in, my guilt overcame me and I turned off the TV.