My dad's TV repair shop was in the basement next to the garage. The garage had hammers, assorted nails & screws, a vice grip on the bench, saws, every kind of automotive tool and wood working tools as well. The TV Repair side had a lot of great tools of the trade: scopes, tube testers, soldering guns, a large schematic of the inside workings of a television set was taped to the wall. Like a giant map of a country he was very familiar with.
When I was a kid, I had an allergy to dogs. It broke my heart because I loved dogs and puppies. Played with my grandpaps dogs on the farm.
Luckily, I grew out of the allergy. But I could not have a dog at my house as a child. So my mom let me have a pet pigeon. He was quite handsome, white and black with a curled crest on the back of his head. We named him Walter Pidgeon after the famous actor. Wally, as we called him needed a cage so my dad took an old 1950's tv set from his shop that was beyond repair, removed all of the innerds, speakers and fabric and covered the back and front with chicken wire. He made a door and a perch for Wally. Later on he built a little side box with a window. Wally 'roosted' there in the evenings. During the day, Wally hung out with me on the back porch perching on the back of a chair or on my shoulder. He was a good buddy! The tv set cage was located in my parents kitchen and it was a sight for anyone coming by to visit. I wish I had a picture. It was a stroke of genius that my dad would make such a fine house for Wally out of that old tv.
New album "BENNY'S TV REPAIR" out now
"The past never sounded as good as it does on Irene Kelley’s BENNY'S TV REPAIR, a collection of bluegrass tunes that manage to sound fresh & sprightly even as they look backward." - Michael Graca, Americana Music Show
" BENNY'S TV REPAIR delivers stunningly gorgeous songs
that evoke the subtle and enduring
beauty of bluegrass. "
BENNY'S TV REPAIR TOUR
