TVs were big
boxy affairs
immovable monoliths
cupboards with fake wood veneer
with dials and knobs
you had to touch
and adjustable rabbit ears
or an aluminum antenna
attached to the roof or chimney
which my father would climb up to
and fiddle with
depending which of our two channels
he wanted to watch
There was a contrast button
vertical hold
an on-off switch which also was volume
It would take a full minute
to warm up and come on
and when you switched it off
the entire picture would contract
into a tiny bright dot
a white hole
in the center of that dark green curved glass
which also took a minute
before vanishing
I imagined Nielson
that ratings guy
looking through that dot
into our living room
to see who was still around
— Larry Crist