Television Static

The television in the breakfast room at work is always tuned to the morning news. I prefer the CBS Mornings program and The Drew Barrymore Show plays in the background while I clean up. I keep the volume loud for the older guests, and no one has complained, except for one time when someone lowered it significantly.

The hotel was busy due to Spring Break, and I was busy keeping the coffee flowing and the breakfast buffet stocked. I left the breakfast room to boil eggs in a separate building. When I returned, there were about six people eating.

While washing my hands, I heard the television volume decreasing. An older man was adjusting the controls on the side of the wall-mounted TV. I assumed he found the volume too loud and didn’t intervene.

He continued fiddling with the controls until the picture vanished, replaced by Television Static – the black and white snow that appears with no signal.

“Can I help you, sir?” I asked.

“I was trying to change the channel,” he grumbled.

His audacity surprised me. I controlled the TV in the breakfast room. But, committed to avoiding conflict, I simply said, “Well, all you got now is snow.”

“Snow is better than what was on before,” he retorted.

I hadn’t been paying attention to the previous program. What could have offended him so much on CBS Mornings? The war in Ukraine? The Capitol riot trials? The “Don’t Say Gay” bill?

I left the television static on the screen. It seemed a better use of my energy than arguing with him. The room fell silent. The other guests spoke in hushed tones, and the channel changer sat alone.

He remained for another 10 or 15 minutes, seemingly unhurried. After he left, I tried to restore the news, but nothing worked. We were stuck with the television static. Sometimes “analog 3” appeared in the corner, but I didn’t know what to do. This was a job for Gary at the front desk, who had always solved every problem so far.

Gary pushed a button near the ones the guest had used. Options appeared on the screen, and he navigated through them, quickly restoring CBS Mornings. Gary saved the day!

I later discovered that the channel button on the TV’s side doesn’t work. Touching it results in nothing but television static. The only way to change channels is with the remote, which requires walking up to the TV and pointing it at the back of the monitor.