We didn’t need that trip to Disney World;
we can laugh anywhere—
even in an Eckerd Drug Store
in the vitamin aisle
reading supplement labels.  
I don’t remember which description
triggered the giggles;
was it Glucosamine Chondroitin,  
or Ginko Biloba?
Maybe not the labels,
but a memory from ten years before
when eye creams dominated our sister-talk.
You claimed Revlon diminished fine lines
better than Clinique
with its iridescent pearls and sea green glow.   

We’ve laughed our way through the perils
of hair removers, dyes, and magnification mirrors.  
Even Alan King’s monologue at Kutsher’s Hotel
was no match for the humor we saw
in Lobby Bingo and the pitch black Starlight Lounge.  

Remember how our mother buried forks
in potted plants to kosher them,
how she pinned camphor bags to our clothes
to ward off disease, how I identified your boyfriends
by their resemblance to fruits and vegetables?
(Was your husband the cucumber?)

Your matinee idols like Eddie Fisher and Sinatra
became mine,
though the Roller Derby was yours alone.
I may not cheer for the Mets or watch hockey on TV,
but I will always seek out your advice.  
What I need to know now is—
Does Glucosamine really work
and how long will these hot flashes last?


© by Norma Ketzis Bernstock.
Used with the author’s permission.