having a VHS collection

you know that feeling, or is it a sound really, when you turn on an older TV and the cathode ray tubes are warming up, and there’s this brief moment where you can actually feel the energy shift slightly. that’s one of the reasons why i collect tapes. i missed the sound of turning the TV on, the way the light warms the glass. i also love hearing the booming voice call out, “Coming Soon to Theaters Near You”; trailers for movies come and gone. i always always watch the trailers when i pop a tape on.

pictured here is a little slice of my collection, some movies i love and watch annually (“When Harry Met Sally”) and others on my to-watch list (“Dracula”). i got into collecting tapes after college, perusing thrift shops and antique malls near and far. they’ve become harder to find, as fewer shops take them. but the hunt is real. if anyone comes across a copy of Wim Wenders’s “Paris, TX” or the Pauly Shore masterpiece “Biodome”, grab it for me, would ya?