TV Converter boxes - who needs one?

When the original deadline to convert TV reception from analog to digital was April 16th, we purchased a converter box for our old TV in the bedroom. We don't watch much TV, but I would like to get the local news (okay, so now I am hooked on Southland too).

I think it is obscene how much cable and satellite companies charge just to watch TV; which is suppose to be already paid for by all the commercials. The programming stinks, there are so many commercials it is not enjoyable and I hate that TV seems to have become the focus in homes. It takes away from conversations with family and is often blasting away just for noise or to keep someone "company." We do not have a TV in our living room. It surprises me how many guests ask about our (lack of) TV. Did they come over to watch it or visit?

Sorry, back to the converter boxes. The box worked just fine. We were able to get the local news and the major networks. What the converter box didn't do was improve my eyesight enough that I could watch the old TV across the room. We finally broke down and bought a bigger, flat screen, digital ready, TV. No need for the converter box.

The digital conversion deadline was extended to June 12th. Our local news talks about the conversion nightly; they even have a call-in center to ask questions.

Since we no longer need our converter box, I called the 'help center' last night. I asked, is there any program that accepted donations of converter boxes and passed them along to folks who may need one? No, replied the volunteer. He said he had worked there over a year now and never heard of such a thing.

How simple would that be, to have a drop off center for converter boxes and make them available to the public? In these times of everyone watching their budgets, and trying to keep things out of landfills, this simple program could make a big difference in supporting both efforts.