Bye Phil (Socks CCCI)

Dana became the only one to put Phil to work, and that was not very often, but when she did, he gave mostly static.
"I think that radio should go to the curb."
"Don't do that Oma. Can I have it?"
Dana was now tall enough to not only pull Margreth's chains, but also set her hands. She unplugged Phil, wound his tail in a bundle, put him under her arm, kissed Oma on the cheek, and went out the door, "Thank you, Oma."
The season changed, and the snow began to fly, "I don't think Phil is coming back."

Getting Weaker (Socks CCC)

Phil's reporting was not as strong as it once had been, not as loud. His dial had to be turned more often, so he could grab a signal, and more and more static came from his speaker, which also sounded brittle.
There came a time when Phil was not called on to work for days at a time. Suddenly, one day, music was coming from the kitchen.
DuMont had an obstructed view of the kitchen, "The music is coming from a bright yellow box."
"Must be one of those new radios that I reported on. I hope it's a Philco."

Needed Repair (Socks CCXCIX)

DuMont slowly took over most of the reports and entertainment of the family. By the time Dana got to the point that she could pull Margreth's chains without getting her hands slapped, Phil only worked for a couple hours each day, usually first thing in the morning.
One day Phil stopped reporting, and the next day a stranger came in, and took Phil's back off, removed something that was black on top, and put something back in that looked the same, except it was not black on top. The man called it a blown tube.
Phil went back to work.

Network Humor (Socks CCXCVIII)

Margreth caught on to joking, but had to learn not to go so far as to embarrass or hurt her friends. She continued to call DuMont, Snow for a long time, until he was replaced with a new model, one that displayed in color. But Phil was becoming less and less clear, so Margreth ceased using the name Static, not wanting to make her oldest friend, at the time, uncomfortable.
All three practiced their wit, copying Jackie Gleason. He was their favorite because he come across on the DuMont Television Network. DuMont claimed the network was his.
"Big Shot."
Laughter.

Attempted Humor (Socks CCXCVII)

Margreth started calling Phil Tightwad, and DuMont she nicknamed Big Shot, in an attempt at good humor. Neither Phil nor DuMont minded being called the names, but wondered why she would use names that did not fit. Both of the appliances knew many thongs, simply because of the amount of information on the signals that they grabbed. They explained the world to Margreth.
"A tightwad is one who spends as little money as possible."
"Money?"
Money was explained.
"A big shot is someone who acts more important than they really are."
"So I should call you Static, and you Snow."

Introspection (Socks CCXCVI)

In time Phil and Margreth had explained the family situation to DuMont. Telling the story made Margreth realize that her and Wilhiem had parallel lives. Both had lost Konrad when he didn't return from the front, wherever that was. Both missed the original Margreth, he had said so at times to Elsebeth. Both had been uprooted from their first home, landing where the people talked a different tongue. Yet Margreth was, most times, sullen, while Wilhiem seemed to continually be laughing, or joking with Elsebeth, Katerina, Dana, but especially Donald.
"I will try to be more like Wilhiem," Margreth thought.

Tightwad and Big Shot (Socks CCXCV)

DuMont had spent a while in a room with a bunch of other TV's. "They called the place a store."
"There were radios there too."
He went home with a nice couple that paid attention to him all the time. He entertained the couple as best as he could, until one day two men in grey clothes carried in a bigger TV, and took DuMont back to the store.
"I stayed there until the two men, Tightwad and Big Shot, came and got me."
Phil and Margreth laughingly explained that their names were Donald and Wilhiem.
"They were having fun."