What do rabbit ears and Bama football have in common? NOTHING -- Part III

So biggest football game of the year. Sister who will kill me if she can't watch it. Friends coming over. Chili to make. Christmas lights to hang. No CBS television.

"I've got medicine for the tv," Patrick says as he walks back in from Best Buy. As he starts pulling boxes out of plastic bags, all I see are tons of wires, an enormous metal V-looking thing and a blank TV screen. Rather than interfere, I find anything else to do. Patrick starts running wires out my living room window and hooking up the new gray box to something on the tv cabinet. About this time, Brad shows up. One hour to game time.

Brad laughs when he sees the mess and comments that he just figured out why the Christmas lights weren't already up. Jumping right in, he takes the new antenna outside to a "high" spot in the yard. Evidently, the signal will get stronger if its outside and elevated. Climbing up on my daughter's swingset, he places it at the top of the slide. I sigh and go back to doing anything else.

All I hear for the next 10 minutes is "try something else!" as Patrick flips channels back and forth, pushes buttons and through his chanting, wills CBS to work. Outside, Brad twists the antenna one way and then another, a few degrees at a time, in the vain hope that a new angle will help. Finally, Patrick comes in asking for a ladder. He's decided more elevation should do it. Evidently, the closer the antenna is to Heaven, the more likely my prayers will be answered.

The clang and clatter of the metal ladder ring through the backyard as they prop it up against the roof. Up goes Brad and shouts come from the frontdoor. Steve and Leslie have shown up. Steve is dressed for hanging lights, according to Leslie. Fortunately, his jogging pants and sweatshirt are well-suited for climbing on roofs, so beating his chest and grunting, out the backdoor he goes to be with the men. It's 15 minutes to game time, Leslie looks at me and I just shake my head.