Aisle 1

Aisle 1

I sit here, quizzically looking at my MEATER + thermometer,
which was supposed to charge while I slept. “Leave probe
in charger for 2 hours,” it said. I’m sure I slept for 6 (a miracle
in itself, these days), but the charger still says “charging.”

There is no green light flashing. No manual guiding the way.
I think about all the devices we leave charging each night:
the Apple watch, which for me is just a fancy timepiece that vibrates
when I need to make a right-hand turn, and hopefully when breast

of turkey is ready to exit the Green Egg; the iPhone, once a lifeline
to community, now a repository of breaking news; my computer,
which thinks I live in San Francisco and refuses to close the Dow Jones
window, even though I have no reason whatsoever to watch the stock

market. And speaking of markets, may you all have a fruitful holiday, filled
with merry and mirth despite the gadgets that rule your lives, the tangle
of Christmas tree lights still waiting to be hung, the easy-to-assemble IKEA
furniture that requires a TaskRabbit Tasker, and the grocery store staff

with no more smiles to spare, just counting the days until Christmas,
one day where they don’t have to listen to the words, “Clean-up
on Aisle 1. Aisle 1.”