Razia had been trying to find activities that her teenage sons and her elderly father would all enjoy during their weekly visits to his house. So far there had been some walks in the park but the boys would run so far ahead it did not feel like a group activity. Sometimes he would tell stories about his childhood which captivated the three boys temporarily-particularly the youngest- Qasim. But his brothers would soon start fiddling with their cellphones. Razia knew it was too soon for her children to value these memoire-re-telling sessions. After a while, Grandpa would smile and say, "That's all for today."
They also had little luck with the television. Razia's father wanted to watch PBS news analysis shows which made the youngsters squirm as this clashed with their Sci Fi dramas. Razia was becoming anxious. Her children's time with their grandfather was too precious and she needed to find some common ground soon.
Razia flipped the channels until she found something called MeTV. What was this? She saw the unmistakeable face of Peter Falk in a raincoat, squinting. She remembered how she and her brother would beg to be allowed to stay home to watch Columbo re-runs while their mother went shopping or to some dull dinner party. Razia's father used to stack TV dinner trays on top of one another for the three of them .They even dared to put their feet up on the faux leather ottoman as their mother was safely out of the house.
They watched as their favorite detective would outsmart some fiendish upper-class villain by brain-power and deduction alone. They would roar at corny jokes about Mrs Columbo, at the sounds the sleuth's jalopy made or how he tried to come across as far more naive than he was. Not a single hi jinx computer generated graphic in sight. Typewriters, rotary phones and sheer magic.
All three of Razia's children sat down on the sofa on either side of their grandfather.
"I've seen some of these old episodes on Netflix!" cried the eldest son, switching off his phone.
"He's so clever!" said the other, moving closer to his grandfather.
"The beauty of this show was that you already knew who the murderer was," said the patriarch. "It was just a question of HOW it was done."
Razia noticed that all the commercials were for folding canes or artificial sweeteners. She found herself actually writing down a few numbers that she thought might be useful.
"These stations certainly know their demographic," she said.
Columbo had re-entered the crime scene and uttered his patent line, "Just one more thing."
Qasim leaned on his grandfather's arm. "They just don't make 'em like this any more." he said with a sigh.
They also had little luck with the television. Razia's father wanted to watch PBS news analysis shows which made the youngsters squirm as this clashed with their Sci Fi dramas. Razia was becoming anxious. Her children's time with their grandfather was too precious and she needed to find some common ground soon.
Razia flipped the channels until she found something called MeTV. What was this? She saw the unmistakeable face of Peter Falk in a raincoat, squinting. She remembered how she and her brother would beg to be allowed to stay home to watch Columbo re-runs while their mother went shopping or to some dull dinner party. Razia's father used to stack TV dinner trays on top of one another for the three of them .They even dared to put their feet up on the faux leather ottoman as their mother was safely out of the house.
They watched as their favorite detective would outsmart some fiendish upper-class villain by brain-power and deduction alone. They would roar at corny jokes about Mrs Columbo, at the sounds the sleuth's jalopy made or how he tried to come across as far more naive than he was. Not a single hi jinx computer generated graphic in sight. Typewriters, rotary phones and sheer magic.
All three of Razia's children sat down on the sofa on either side of their grandfather.
"I've seen some of these old episodes on Netflix!" cried the eldest son, switching off his phone.
"He's so clever!" said the other, moving closer to his grandfather.
"The beauty of this show was that you already knew who the murderer was," said the patriarch. "It was just a question of HOW it was done."
Razia noticed that all the commercials were for folding canes or artificial sweeteners. She found herself actually writing down a few numbers that she thought might be useful.
"These stations certainly know their demographic," she said.
Columbo had re-entered the crime scene and uttered his patent line, "Just one more thing."
Qasim leaned on his grandfather's arm. "They just don't make 'em like this any more." he said with a sigh.
2 comments:
And his awful gray-blue car....
And his sad basset hound....
The Columbo character still has international and inter-generational appeal!
What a classic, to be sure! Priceless story!
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