When You Wish Upon A Coaxial Cable

Nearing my re-entrance into adulthood, I couldn't help but remember a time where I was anything but adult-like. I'm a fairly outgoing person, and it usually doesn't take much for me to do something; especially if I believe it is a good idea.

At my freshman orientation, I met and befriended one of my current really good friends; Anise. When move in day happened for our freshman year, it turned out that we lived next door to each other in the dorms. I can remember the first day when she called my new cell phone to find where I was. She was living with her best friend, Stella, who I briefly met at freshman orientation after an incident with a flat tire.

The dorms were separated by a small patio, which proved to be a wonderful meeting place for young impressionable minds. Teaming with smokers, break dancers, and the fans of both, the patio had a very unique and positive dynamic. It is common to human nature to want to form bonds with other humans over even the simplest of things.

Just like the tenants of the patio, there was a group of individuals who made home in the lobby of the west dorm. They called themselves the "Lobby Rats" (no joke). This eclectic bunch bonded over Magic the Gathering, anime, and their love for wearing and making clothes that suggested they were characters within the card game they played so often.

Anise and Stella were smokers, so due to my affiliation with them, I became part of the patio group. The people were diverse and interesting. A good number of them also enjoyed sports, which being at a dominating sports university aided in that revelation.

Although the dorms were separated by the patio, all residents had access to the lobbies of both buildings. In the west dorm, there was a public, free to use, big screen television. It was a floor model, not that it mattered because it worked and it was big and available. This television, however, became the Helen of Troy of our dorm. Because the scheduling for when the television was to be used was very lax (a first come first serve type policy with maybe a 3 hour time constraint), it was hard for everyone to be pleased when they got to use it. The Lobby Rats often used the television to watch anime, and the patio people used it to watch sports games.

One faithful College Football Saturday, the Lobby Rats got up early to monopolize the television and its time; much to the chagrin of the patio people who were looking to watch a full day of football. An argument (just short of a belligerent wrestling match) ensued, causing a bout of tension between the two groups. Now instead of using the television for its intended purposes, the two groups were using it (and its rules/privileges) to annoy the other group. Real mature.

After about two weeks of this madness, I had gotten fed up with the entire process and would've done anything to alleviate this seemingly childish situation. And then...my chance came.

Stella had two younger brothers, and one day the younger of the two came to visit in the dorm. At the time of his visit, Stella's brother was 11. I remember walking into the west lobby and seeing her, her dad, and the little brother and introducing myself. I remember the little brother asking about the big screen TV, and the conversation that ensued:

Little Brother: Look at that big screen, can anybody watch it?
Me: Yeah, but there is this group of anime nerds who fight with the people on the patio over who gets to watch it when.
LB: Really? Why are they fighting?
Me: Who knows, they're just being really stupid really. I wish I could do something to stop it. Just unplug it so no one can watch it.
LB: Ooh! You could take the cable cord out maybe!

Yes, when this 11 year old child stated those glorious and magical words, I leaped into action. Accompanied by him and Stella, I carefully rolled the television to the side to reveal that not only could the cable cord be taking out of the TV, but it could be taken out of the wall in the same manner. Perfect..

After removing the cable cord, Stella and I began to brainstorm what could be done with this cord. We didn't want to take the property of the dorm, but we also didn't want people to have access to it. While debating on locations to hide the cord, the little brother noticed that the screen doors behind where the television sat were open and suggested we hide the cord there. Genius. This kid is two for two. Quick, someone get me materials to make him a cake.

Once again taking the advice of an 11 year old, Stella and I hid the cable cord behind the screen doors. After a good laugh of how this prank would change the dynamic of the groups, we went our separate ways. Stella and I told a few of the patio people about the situation so that they could laugh with us. Calling it a victory for the patio people, they quickly began bringing their own cable cord to the TV when they were ready to watch. After a few days, the Lobby Rats caught wind of the trend and began doing the same thing. The fighting had stopped. It was miraculous. Until the television broke in the process.

One day, the television would not turn to a station, just snow. The fighting had begun again, only this time it was over who broke the TV and who should have to pay for it. The Residential Hall Coordinator and dorm life got involved with the incident, and it became an actual big deal. A lot of name calling and blaming started to happen and the RHC had no idea what to do about it.

Not sure how long after it first happened, but I definitely remember walking to the patio one night to find a couple sitting at one of the tables. I took the initiative to say hi, and I talked with them for a bit. They were hoping to get inside a lobby to use the bathroom, so I let them into the west lobby. After their bathroom break, they came to the couches and saw the big screen TV. They talked about how their dorm didn't have a TV of that size in the lobby. I mentioned the incident and the now broken status of the television. The girl, being inquisitive, wanted to see the back of the TV. We rolled the TV to the side so she could look, and she realized that the coaxial input was loose on the TV. She wanted to take a closer look, and went to her car to get her tools. Not being sexist, but why she had a toolbox in her car and the guy did not and could not even use them was beyond me.

We took off the back panel of the TV, and found the problem of the "broken television". The input had come loose and just needed to be set back on to the board. In hindsight, that job needed some soldering, but since we were college students and knew everything, we worked on it anyway. It was maybe 17 seconds in when we broke the piece completely. Defeated and not caring, we placed the panel back onto the TV and they left. I didn't think twice about it. I mean hey, it was broken already right?

The next day, as I was walking out of the dorm, Stella comes up to me and states "You have to talk to the RHC, the Lobby Rats are blaming Cody for the TV and they're going to get him in a lot of trouble! You have to tell her about the cable cord!" Well this is a great way to start my day. Because I didn't want anyone to get in trouble over my actions, I did as she said. I went to the RHC and told her about the cable cord. My honesty sounded a bit like this:

Me: Well, my friend's 11 year old brother had an idea to just take the cable cord out to get them to stop fighting. I thought it was a good idea, so I did it
RHC: So you took the cord? Where is it?
Me: Oh yeah, we hid it behind the screen door that's behind the TV. Its been there this entire time
RHC: Well because of that, the replacing of the cords each time made the cable input fall in the TV, and now no one can use it.
Me: Yeah...about that, I met these two random people last night and we were looking at the back of the TV and we kind of made that happen.
RHC: What is up with you and listening to people you don't know?

Yeah...good question. The judicial board decided not to blame anyone for the destruction of the TV because not one (but several) person was to blame. However, since I started and ended the cable cord debauchery, I was forced to write an essay on being responsible, take a responsibility class (I don't remember what the essay or the class was about, but they were subject relative), and write a letter of apology to the patio people and the Lobby Rats. I remember asking her who I should address the Lobby Rat letter to, and she stated "The Lobby Rats", so I laughed. At the point, I didn't know they actually called themselves that, so I thought it was funny they she would make me address them in that manner when I thought it was a name insult. Me laughing, got me in trouble of course. Not sorry.

After that semester, they decided to not have the TV in the lobby for everyone to use, so they placed it in the basement where only residents could get access to it. Turned out for the better anyway.

I'd do it all over again and in the exact same manner because I'm a rebel. ~!Antoine!~