Hearing Aids
by Zvi A.
Sesling
Bertrand
realizes he is losing his hearing so he goes to
Ultimate Ears and undergoes tests. Finally the
hearing specialist tells him he needs a pair of
Ultimate Ears X-1 hearing aids.
You’ll be able to hear a pin drop in the
middle of traffic jam and the cars will not sound
overly loud. These are ultimate in hearing
aids. The specialiast explains a lot of technical
data that Bertrand does not understand but fully
appreciates the importance of what he is being
told.
After paying $8,000 for a pair of Ultimate Ears X-1
and waiting the two weeks for them to arrive by
special carrier at his front door, he signs the
receipt and immediately fits them to his ears. To
his amazement Bertrand can hear things he has not
heard for a long time: the refrigerator, door
bell, neighbors arguing next door, dogs barking,
mice scurrying across the kitchen floor. More
amazing, by adjusting the hearing to Level 1 he
can hear the past: FDR’s declaration of war
against the Japanese, Eisenhower’s
acceptance speech as newly elected president,
Roger Maris’ 61st homerun. He is astounded
by the history he can tune in on. Then on a whim
he boosts the hearing to Level 8 and hears things
yet to come: a president impeached and another
assassinated. A space landing on a moon of
Jupiter.
Bertrand literally cannot believe his ears. He
wants to return them to Ultimate Ears but decides
he will figure out how the stock market does and
become rich. While fiddling with the setting he
hears his minister praying for his departed soul.
Originally
published in the Wilderness House Literary Review
|
