Pay Per View Shows

When I was twelve, I was living in a one bedroom apartment with my mom in Jersey City.  We didn't have much of anything, and we didn't have cable.  But I still did watch a lot of TV.  Since my mom worked in Brooklyn, she would have to leave early and got home late.  I didn't have many friends so TV was my companion.

I think my mom used to give me some money.  Everyday after school, I would walk a few blocks over to Midtown Deli (I think that's what it was called), and I would buy a can of soda and a pint of Hershey's chocolate ice cream.  I remember the box was cube shaped.  I can't remember if I got Pepsi or Coke.  I would then walk home and sit on the couch, watch the Disney afternoon lineup and eat my ice cream and drink my soda.  That was almost everyday, and I didn't have a lot of activities.  So yeah, I did gain some weight.

Eventually, I used to bar WWF ice cream bars instead.  I got into wrestling at some point.  I used to even buy WWF Magazine, along with my favorite, Mad Magazine.  I had a collection in the early nineties, but now I don't know what I did with them.  This was around the time Bret Hart became champion.

I would watch "WWF Superstars" at noon on Saturdays, and then "WWF Wrestling Challenge" at noon on Sundays.  Both were on Channel 5.  Sometimes when we would have to go to church, I would record the latter show.  

And then eventually I found out that there were other shows on cable.  I was envious of my friend Jackson, who got to watch it but was never really into it.  Sometimes I would ask him what matches were on and who won and stuff.  It was kind of frustrating when he wouldn't really get into the details.  He would just kinda tell me quickly and move on.  And sometimes he didn't even tune in.  I wished we did have cable, but I was pretty sure we couldn't afford it and felt bad about even thinking of asking my mom.  I think at some point, I asked Jackson to record it for me but either he didn't know how or he didn't have a blank tape or he forgot.  Overall, he didn't really seem interested in it.

In the seventh grade, there was a new kid who transferred to my school.  He had a Spanish and Asian name, like Jose Chan.  I can't remember what nationalities he was though.  Me and my classmates would sometimes talk about wrestling.  I don't think my friends were into it so much as to pay for the PPV shows, but Jose's family either did or they somehow got it for free.

Jose was always friendly.  I remember he was some kind of traffic volunteer or something.  He had a badge and everything, and I was impressed.  I'm not exactly sure what it was for, but he was some kind of traffic guide or something.  I never saw him in action though.  Or he was making it all up.  Anyway, at some point, Jose mentioned he would be watching the next Pay Per View show and that he would record it for me.  I don't think I even asked.  And he did, and he gave me the tape the next day.  I believe most shows would be on a Sunday night, and he would give me the tape on Monday.  Our other classmates would borrow it, too, but I was always the first one to get it.  There were really only two or three more PPVs during that school year, but it was still pretty cool.