Back in ‘81, you viewed Wheel devoutly with Grandma in her in-law suite attached to your living room, on a couch that smelled like cabbage. The remote clicked when she changed the channel. Back when Vanna was 24 & still turned the letter tiles. Back when Pat was 35 & you thought everyone was ancient.
You lost interest somewhere in your 20’s, but Mom and Dad continued tuning in at top volume, solving puzzles for two decades more in their condo. & Pat & Vanna were forever smiling widely at 7:00 pm & you swore they’d never get old.
& Mom never turned the Game Show Network off after she moved to her assisted facility & started sleeping in her gray La-Z-Boy recliner.
Pat Sajak taped his last episode on Friday.
You’re also retiring soon, comforted Vanna’s staying for a bit longer. You still call your remote a clicker.
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Questions while weeding through wedding albums at Brimfield Antique Flea Market
Why would you want to put strangers on your coffee table? Did my parents have a wedding album? When was the last time I watched my wedding tape? Owned a working VCR? How have I been married for thirty-four years? What are the last names of my bridesmaids? My great-grandparents first names? Will anyone sell the stacks of black and whites in my basement after I go? How come these albums all smell the same? Why did Grandma Kitty marry my Grandpa Walter twice? Why don’t we talk about Grandpa’s other family? What is my Dad’s sister’s name? Does she know my Dad passed? Did she? Does anyone notice I am crying? How many other husbands did Grandma Sandra have? 3? 4? What happened to them? Did Mom attend those weddings? Why have I never seen those photos? Maybe they are somewhere here in this pile—
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Victoria Nordlund’s poetry collections Wine-Dark Sea and Binge Watching Winter on Mute are published by Main Street Rag. She is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize Nominee, whose work has appeared in PANK Magazine, Rust+Moth, Chestnut Review, trampset, and elsewhere. Visit her at VictoriaNordlund.com
