The TV’s on again. Has been since I got home. My wife, Carol, she used to say I was practically married to the damn thing. Funny, huh? Now it’s just me and it. Every single day, every day. It’s like a background noise, keeps the quiet from getting too loud. Too… empty. My kid, Sarah, she calls. Asks if I’m eating right. “Dad, you need to get out more, join a club, something.” Easy for her to say. Her kids are grown, she’s still working, travel and all that crap. My grandkids, they’re busy, always doing something. Good for them, I guess. I used to be busy. Plumbing, every day was something different. A burst pipe, a clogged toilet, a new boiler. Fixed things. Made them work again. Now… what do I fix? Just sit here. Watch the news. Watch whatever nonsense is on. They talk about a lot of stuff. The economy, interest rates, I don’t even know what half of it means anymore. Used to keep up, you know? Keep an eye on the market, retirement funds. Now it’s just numbers on a screen. I had a performance review once, boss said I was “exceeding expectations.” Exceeding. That felt good. Like I was doing something important. Now I just… exist. Sometimes I wonder if anyone would even notice if I just… stopped. Not in a bad way, just… stopped showing up. To this life. The quiet is the worst part. Louder than any damn TV. Makes you think too much. About everything. About nothing. Just… there. What the hell am I supposed to do with all this… time? This silence. It’s just… here. Every day.