Love, Loss and What I Ate, A Memoir in Verse

And an ode to GenX

Photo by Dmitrii Eliuseev on Unsplash

When my father died and I found myself digging through a generation’s worth of effects and found planners dating back to the 1980s. This piece was inspired by the bittersweet nostalgia of discovery, gleaned from decades of lists.

These grocers will be especially recognizable if you’ve ever lived in Columbus, Pittsburgh, Portland, St. Petersburg, Tunisia, or Qatar.

Fri, March 10, 1987, Cols, OH, sober anniversary weekend with Jeff

Big Bear:
Eggs
Bacon
Cream cheese
Coffee (Eight o’Clock or Chock Full o’ Nuts, or sale)
English muffins
Velveeta
Macaroni
Whole milk
Ramen noodles
Microwave popcorn
Frusen Glädjé, Swiss chocolate almond

• True, 3 packs

Sat, June 22, 1991, Cols, OH, Jeff’s memorial

Big Bear:
Marlboro Lights, carton
Folgers Classic, 2 cans
Meat and cheese trays