On Friday, I had picked up a washer/dryer set from an appliance warehouse in Freehold, NJ. No one was there to help and I was glad I could move the set myself. This had led me to think of the large Terry of yesteryear as iron and my current incarnation as aluminum. I’m now lighter, stronger, better able to dissipate heat, but brittle.

Today was the first chance I had to try the set and I am pleased with its performance. My favorite feature is either the fact that for the first time in a month I can get fresh underwear without leaving my house or the little whistle noise it makes when the cycle’s done.

The washer is broken.

As a line, the above sentence could probably be spoken with truth in my house roughly 5% of the time over the past two decades. We’ve never had a washing machine that properly functioned for a stretch longer than six months and it’s come to symbolize “this is why we can’t have nice things”. Our current washing machine has gone through bearings, lost belts, had electrical issues, been eaten at by mice, and now was in need of some six hundred dollars in repairs. Before, we’d have tried to fix it ourselves and learned a bit about washing machine repair but that is no longer our lot. We swallowed hard and paid for a new washing machine befitting my father and mine station in life. The washer arrived in its pristine alabaster condition gleaming brilliantly in the sun of a crisp Autumn weekend that smelt of change. Leaves were turning, we were wearing flannel, and the washing machine in no way fit with the existing dryer.

The bases didn’t match, the sizes were different, the bracing was incompatible and my father and I exhaled deeply as the washing machine was taken back. My father, stared at his hands and said “I’m tired”. 30 years of frustration on being a home owner summed up in two words. I was tired too.

I started hitting Craigslist and my dad started making calls looking for a new set. Over dinner we compared notes and found that we had each found the same set of high efficiency LG units for about the same price in about the same condition. HIs were in New Jersey and mine were in Delaware. I will take this coincidence as Providence. To a bright future of functional laundry equipment.

The washing machine is still broke and none of my friends had an available washer so I ventured to The Laundromat. My local one is largely frequented by single middle-aged men. I at least assume they were single but based on some educated guesswork I’m confident.

All in all it was a heartening experience. The way the Sicilian man lovingly folded his track suits and chose perm press instead of colors for anything made from crushed velvet or how the two elder black men alternated discussing blues and barbeque let me know that my children or at least my brother’s children will live in a world of reassuring stereotypes.

I was also encouraged that everyone folded their laundry. I wonder if this is an observer effect likenhow everyone washed their hands in public bathrooms if anyone else is there.

The washing machine is still broke and none of my friends had an available washer so I ventured to The Laundromat. My local one is largely frequented by single middle-aged men. I at least assume they were single but based on some educated guesswork I’m confident.

All in all it was a heartening experience. The way the Sicilian man lovingly folded his track suits and chose perm press instead of colors for anything made from crushed velvet or how the two elder black men alternated discussing blues and barbeque let me know that my children or at least my brother’s children will live in a world of reassuring stereotypes.

I was also encouraged that everyone folded their laundry. I wonder if this is an observer effect likenhow everyone washed their hands in public bathrooms if anyone else is there.