Paperwork: Noteworthy that my lifelong companion is a storyteller

July 1, 1948, was a Thursday. My day of birth.

I was born into a chaotic, noisy world. I have one of those little foldout pamphlets that make fun birthday gifts: “1948 – Your Special Year.” I can see I was less than a blip on the news meter.

“Mahatma Gandhi, leader of India, assassinated. ... Berlin blockade instituted by Russia. ... Truman beats pollsters and wins presidency.”

A new car cost $1,230 with a gallon of gas at 16 cents. The price on a new house was $7,700. Minimum wage was 40 cents. And life expectancy was 62.9 years.

My memory pamphlet barely touches on 1948. A deeper dive online makes that clear. And I was looking for something special.

All those major events in 1948 had some impact on me via my parents, their world of work and the challenges of raising kids. But I wanted to find history that actually touched me and connected.

I had to smile at a few items on the ‘48 calendar of events. They certainly had impact on my life.

The Frisbee was invented in 1948. I think I still have one somewhere in my garage.

But more significant is that Cheetos hit the shelves in 1948. You could say we’ve shared a lifetime together, although I can’t recall my first experience with orange fingers.

The same can be said for the most popular candy bar in 1948 — the Almond Joy. Still one of my favorites.

So there – history having a direct impact on my life. But there was one bit of history I left to uncover – my lifetime with television.

Several years ago a textbook stated that TV was born in 1948. Well, that is not accurate. But I can say I grew up with TV since it also was an infant in ‘48.

Online “experts” say about 8,000 U.S. households had TV sets in 1946 and 45.7 million had them by 1960.

I clearly remember sitting on the floor, cross-legged, watching the box when I was 4 or 5 years old. The first episode of the “Howdy Doody” show aired Dec. 27, 1947, close to six months before I was born. So the show also was a youngster when I started watching it.

I loved TV. Life felt dull when the screen displayed only the RCA Indian-head test pattern.

I followed the usual path growing up: cartoons to black-and-white Westerns to sitcoms and TV dramas and then old movies. In other words, “Mighty Mouse” to “The Cisco Kid” and “The Lone Ranger” to “The Andy Griffith Show” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun — Will Travel.” And so on.

I was in high school before I saw a color TV and, of course, “Bonanza.” But I favored the old black and white movies. Still love ‘em. Tarzan. Charlie Chan. Sherlock Holmes. Abbott and Costello. “The Thin Man” series. And “Key Largo,” the Humphrey Bogart film that hits screens the year I was born.

And then movies in theaters. At 8 years old I paid 25 cents to see “Rodan” in 1956, my first movie in a theater. Hooked me on sci-fi horror.

Technology has had a huge impact on my life and career in journalism. But TV, as it evolved, has been my playmate and companion. Yes, some of it was an addictive lapse of time, but it gave me stories and fascinating characters. A portal to imagination. An exploration of what exists or could be.

TV today still is a huge time suck, but the quality of story and writing can be compelling, with undeniable impact.

So, I no longer sit crossed-legged on the floor, inches from the screen, but I remain addicted to the world of story.

• Lonny Cain, retired managing editor of The Times in Ottawa, also was a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet in the 1970s. His PaperWork email is lonnyjcain@gmail.com . Or mail The Times, 110 W. Jefferson St., Ottawa, IL 61350.