when bruce willis (as john mcclane in die hard) pulls broken shards of glass out of his bloody bare feet, i’m reminded of my mother, rhonda heart’s bad animals album (on cassette) reminds me of my mother, rhonda wigs & hair extensions remind me of my mother, rhonda antiques remind me of my mother, rhonda eating chili dogs on halloween reminds me of my mother, rhonda threatening to throw hot bacon grease in someone’s face reminds me of my mother, rhonda obsession by calvin klein reminds me of my mother, rhonda handwritten letters that smell like patchouli & birthday cards that smell like patchouli & christmas cards that smell like patchouli remind me of my mother, rhonda the flarp!™ display at dollar tree reminds me of my mother, rhonda the music video for “all i wanna do is make love to you” by heart, “open arms” by journey, & “don’t cha” by the pussycat dolls remind me of my mother, rhonda florida georgia line remind me of my mother, rhonda glitter (the 2001 mariah carey film), as well as glitter (the sparkly material) remind me of my mother, rhonda ads for miss cleo & unpaid phone bills remind me of my mother, rhonda slippery nipples (the shot/cocktail) remind me of my mother, rhonda shopko (northside) reminds me of my mother, rhonda gallstones & gastric bypass surgery & diet pills & caffeine pills & ephedrine & “trimspa, baby!” & gerd & tums & root canals all remind me of my mother, rhonda drive-in theaters remind me of my mother, rhonda voice-to-text, emojis, & typos remind me of my mother, rhonda doilies remind me of my mother, rhonda there’s an incomplete & ever-growing list of things that remind me of my mother, rhonda but more than anything else when i’m in the taco bell drive-thru & have to get out of my car to pay for my shredded chicken quesoritos because my driver’s side window doesn’t roll down, i’m reminded of my mother, rhonda
Josh Olsen (he/him) is a librarian and the co-editor of Gimmick Press.
Taco Bell Quarterly 