Video 1

About two years ago, Tiffany and I touched something on one of our remotes and a little message called "Video 1" appeared in the top left corner of our television.

Try as we might, we could never again find the button that removed that message from the screen, so, since then, every television show or movie we have watched has included that visual. When something took place in the top left corner of the screen--think football or basketball scores and a surprising amount of background action in scripted shows--we couldn't see it.

We accepted this small inconvenience the same way we accept the fact that our TV's speakers make a subtle crackling sound. Our TV is a low priority, as is most technology--and I use that term loosely--we've invested in together. For illustrative purposes, I will share that when we don't want to miss a good show, we pull a dusty cassette tape off a shelf, insert it into our VCR and press record.

"Why does it say Video 1 on your TV?" my brother asked last week, when he came into town for a quick visit.

"I don't know," I said. "We can't figure it out."

"How long has it been like that?"

"It was like that the last time I was here," our family friend Rebecca contributed from the couch, ratting us out the same way she used to when we were children and left her out of a dangerous game. "That was eight or nine months ago."

"Give me your remote," Brandon said.

I handed him the only two we use--the ones for the cable box and the DVD/VCR player.

"No, the TV remote," he said.

"Ohhhhhh!" Tiffany and I looked at each other excitedly. "It's there, on top of the DVD player. We've never touched it!"

Brandon touched it. And, just like that, the Video 1 message disappeared.

I once was blind. But now I see my whole TV.