How We Used to Watch TV

I can remember growing up we had TV trays.  Whatever happened to them?  I distinctly remember going to my grandmother Bumby's house as a kid and we'd get the TV trays out in front of the TV.  For some reason, I remember breakfast the best.  Bumby would bring us a big bowl of Rice Krispies and a sugar bowl with a teaspoon in it.  We would sprinkle sugar over our Rice Krispies and listen to Snap, Krackle and Pop.  Meanwhile she was in the kitchen.  Bumby made the best Cinnamon Toast ever!  She had a toaster oven and would put butter, cinnamon and sugar on the toast.  It would come out hot and so delicious.  She would put it right on our TV tray while we watched whatever we were watching.  It was fun until one time I remember my brother had this shiny racing jacket that he was very proud of.  My grandmother had a space heater glowing bright red in the den.  My brother got a little too close and melted his favorite jacket.  (Crazy things you remember!)

At my other grandmother (Myrtle Lee's) house, she had TV trays too.  We would park ourselves in front of the TV and eat rice and gravy and sausage.  Our cola was set down on the tv tray for us in aluminum cups that were FREEZING cold.  We'd watch Gunsmoke, Barnaby Jones, Hawaii 5-0, The Rockford Files and then we'd eat my grandpa's favorite ice cream - Ozark Black Walnut ice cream.  We would visit, for sure, but the TV tray allowed us to park in front of the TV, visit, and eat.  Multi-tasking at ist best.  Then we'd clean up the dishes and play solitaire.   The tv trays had legs that would fold out and you could put a chair down and pull it in front of you.  Whatever happened to them?  Today, we always eat at the table. 

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I guess the reason I was thinking about TV trays tonight is because for the past few days with the freezing weather, we've brought a modern version of the TV tray into existence:

Tonight we had homemade beef and vegetable soup and a bowl of salad in front of the fireplace.  While we didn't have a TV tray, we had the next best thing.  We set our bowls down on the hearth, said grace, and gazed into the warm fire while eating and visiting.  So relaxing!

Once done, we cleared dishes away and pulled up our chairs to the fireplace .  Our improvised TV trays are much more sturdy than the old ones, allowing us to kick up our feet and warm our toes. 

TV trays, while great, were not that sturdy.