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Man Says Digital TV Switch Saved His Life

by Caleb Johnson on June 17, 2009 at 02:39 PM


As we have reported, the switch to digital television has not been smooth for everybody. We're fairly sure we heard a collective sob on June 12th when many boxes went black around the country. In Memphis, Tennessee, Robert Monsarrat didn't lose the ability to watch television; he just had to change his routine a little bit. And it may have saved his life.

A storm rolled through Memphis last week and brought a huge tree crashing down on the 86-year-old's house, according to a report by MyFox Memphis. The tree crushed his bedroom, where Monsaratt, a self-described "avid" TV watcher, typically kicks back each afternoon and watches his favorite shows. But Monsaratt had not yet purchased a digital converter box for the bedroom yet, so the World War II veteran was fortuitously relaxing in the kitchen (which had a converter box) when the storm destroyed part of his house. Monsaratt did suffer some small cuts and bruises, but he told MyFox Memphis that he would have been "pushing up daisies" if it wasn't for the digital switch. To our reckoning, this man must be the only person in the country who is pleased as punch about the conversion.


We wonder if Monsaratt will follow through with his former plan to buy a converter box for his bedroom. We think a man, particularly one like Monsaratt, who once freed war prisoners from a Nazi camp, should be able to watch as much TV as he wants. [From: MyFox Memphis]

Tags: digital tv transition, DigitalTvTransition, dtv, storm, television, top, weird

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