After some 30 years or more of no television, I was willed a large screen TV last year. By my children’s standards, it’s just a small 30 inch TV. But after hooking it up, I felt as if I could have put it in the window and charged admission for a Drive-In theatre.
Sadly my friend who left it to me had succumbed to COVID-19. This TV had been her constant companion especially during lock-downs at the assisted living facility which she called home.
We both had lived on Boston’s Beacon Hill and, although we had friends who crisscrossed through our lives, I didn’t get to know her well until she moved into “The Place from Which to Escape.”
Along with another die-hard Beacon Hiller, we saw her often, even if it was just to stand in the courtyard and wave to her. And while I really did not want a television, I felt that a part of her was still here talking to this “damn TV.”
It took me several months to hook up the television with an antennae. Somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to sign up with a cable company. Stations were limited, and so I gave myself a full dose of public TV.
Eventually I found myself watching TV more than writing. And it was so mesmerizing, that I even watched baking shows despite the fact that my go-to dessert is ice cream.
I vowed that during this pandemic year — that was last year — I would create another website. Write another book. Organize some 30 years of photos. And begin corresponding with friends by putting pen to paper.
Just about a year has passed and my “To-Do” list gets longer and my accomplishments list is shorter.
Today, I am finally realizing that it is time to dream a dream, create a memory, and instead of seething in anger at those who oppose voting rights, I can start ranting and raving on paper.
Why? If I cannot change the minds of Trumpers and anti-vaxxers, I would like my young grandchildren to realize some day that in my own way — I took a stand.
On this Martin Luther King Day, may his courage inspire us.
Copyright Rita Watson 2022