No one, not even Shirley Temple, had ever arrived home with a bigger audience than Mr. Tweed did that evening. Neighbors pressed their noses to the Tweeds’ window screen in effort to be the first to see it.

Mr. Tweed took his own sweet time opening the box, too. Mr. and Mrs. Tweed, Ryan, and Glenn knew the importance of proper suspense in the small town of Little Brown Tree. All their lives, they had been taught that suspense, if placed in the right spot, could make or break a good story.

Finally, with a final cough into his white hankerchief, Mr. Tweed revealed to the town the contents of the box.

No longer would the Tweeds rely solely on their radio. No longer would they have to imagine the face of the voice coming across the airwaves.

Little Brown Tree had its first television set.