Wednesday, April 26, 2017

A to Z Challenge: VHS



The first time I remember hearing about VHS   (Video Home System) tapes while I was in Colombia in 1982.  I remember the young people that we missionaries worked with debating the pros and cons of VHS vs Betamax . . . and I was pretty clueless about either one.  Of course, as missionaries, we did not have time in our schedules for watching movies or television.  The closest we ever came to watching a movie was when we would gather a family or group of people together to watch a filmstrip about Jesus Christ or another gospel topic, the soundtrack being provided by a cassette tape player.

After I returned home in 1983, I soon learned about the wonders of VHS.  A popular weekend activity at that time was to rent a VHS player and a movie or two for a day for about $25 or so.  DH and I and a group of friends would gather together in someone's apartment for a fun evening of watching movies.   The guys would rent the VHS player and the movies and would usually fix dinner too . . . hamburgers or pizza or something simple, and we would enjoy an evening of James Bond and/or Trinity.  You could probably tell that the guys chose the movies too . . . but that's ok, it made for a fun group date, and was less expensive than going to the movie theater and out to eat when everyone chipped in together.

It wasn't too long after we married that we bought our own VCR and started collecting our own VHS tapes.   We currently have two working VCR players and a nice large collection of movies, but oddly enough, I don't think we actually own any James Bond or Trinity movies.

What are your memories of VHS?  or Betamax?  James Bond?  or Trinity?





2 comments:

  1. You do own Trinity on DVD... all of them, I think

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    1. You are absolutely right. I had forgotten, but DH confirms that we do indeed have Trinity on DVD. Next time you come to visit we'll have to have a Trinity marathon! :)

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