Alive or Dead?

Lately, we’ve been playing this new game at our house. Well, it isn’t exactly a game and it isn’t really new. But we’re obsessed with it. You see, we’ve been watching old television shows. Comfort programming. The Love Boat, That Girl, Bewitched. Married with Children and Everybody Loves Raymond. Anything that reminds us of happier times. Lighter, sillier fare. Stuff from years earlier. The kind of programming that allows you to escape. Did I mention The Beverly Hillbillies, Leave It To Beaver, and Gilligan’s Island?

Where Are They Now?

When I was bar mitzvahed, my folks hired a photographer to film the party. Each year on my birthday, my Dad set up the projector and we’d gather around to watch the movie. Eventually, the film was transferred to VHS and then to a DVD. Over the years, what had once been happy viewing, changed. Most of the smiling faces are no longer with us. Now, it’s hard to watch the DVD and not feel sad.

The End of the Story

Paul Harvey, the radio broadcaster and raconteur, was famous for his sign-off: “And now you know the rest of the story.” If I might, I’d edit that line to read: “…the end of the story.” So many people come and go in our lives. Family, friends, neighbors, business associates—it’s tempting to know what has happened to them all. Mostly, we’ve lost track. And if you move around a lot, like we have, losing track is inevitable.

Bored to Tears

In the midst of the pandemic, our entertainment options are limited. And so, we continue to watch old television shows, smartphones nearby to Google familiar faces. Alive or dead? When and how? How many times were they married? How many children? In a way, it’s preferable to Google strangers than to search through our own past and ask these same questions. And far easier than absorbing the horrible loss of over 180,000 Americans who have recently died from Covid-19.

Added Bonus:

What’s That Growing in My Sour Cream? is available as an audiobook on Audible and iTunes. If you get a moment, listen to the Introduction. It’s only 3 minutes long but it will give you a flavor of the audiobook. The narrator has a great voice. And no, it’s not me. Also, this month The Intersect will be part of a Contemporary Fiction promotion. Please check it out.

And Remember

Your health is precious. So please be safe. And hopefully, we’ll all meet again on the pages of my next novel, Boca by Moonlight, due out in the summer of 2021.