The Miraculous TV Tray #28
Yes, that is a Wonder Bread bologna sandwich with Hellmann's on Chuck's TV tray, a staple in his diet. On his TV tray, one will always find the following: crumbs (from previous meals), a TV remote, a crossword or other game book, a grocery ad from three weeks ago, a date book, and his glasses which he refuses to wear and can never find.
The TV tray, no longer a staple in many homes, is a wonder of the world in my dad's mind. At any time, he can have two or three tray's carefully situated around his barcalounger, and all the trays are in play at any given time. In my small home, I gave him a limit of one TV tray while he was staying with me. (The trays are a left-over remnant of when he and mom owned the cottage.) So his overflow went onto the side table next to the couch. "I can't find my 'fill in the blank'". "Did you look onto the side table next to your TV tray?" "Oh, there is the dental floss." He grabs it and begins to floss his teeth right in the living room while filling in the crossword puzzle. "Oh hell no Dad. Floss your teeth in the bathroom, not the living room. Gross." Chuck waves his hand at me and replies: "If it is in front of me, I remember to floss my teeth. Otherwise I forget." How do I fight that logic?
"Guess what I found in the side table? That's where I left my fork from dinner last night." Chuck holds it up like a trophy. Swear word, swear word swear word. "Dad you can't leave used utensils or plates on or in the tables as I will have a pest problem." Normally, I am vigilant in doing a 'check' on his area of tables each night after he goes to bed to clean and make sure there is not hidden food, etc. I stupidly didn't even think to look in the drawer of the side table for his dirty fork. Damn.
The bright side of the TV trays, everything sits out in plain sight; thus my dad's attraction to them. He can see all the items of his daily life laid out before him, and yes, then he can remember everything before the nightly Memory Wipe happens.














