Julie's Digital Washing Machine

Julie's Digital Washing Machine

(Dear Readers, this retro experience touches on a wistful time about growing up in Baltimore. I hope this short essay might lighten the load of such

awful local as well as international news).

In fact, it's an efficient washer because it reads the needs of the cloths as soon as the little red and yellow lights start their mysterious flashing.  

My mother (God Rest Elda's Soul) loved to tell me stories

about how I was fascinated by the noise of the old fashioned

ringer washing machine. She washed all our cloths in a ringer machine,

when we lived on Bolden Street, in East Baltimore.

"Aaaaa-taaa.  Aaaaa-taaa", I'd mimick the sound

from my high chair, while watching the agitator rotate back and forth.

Of course, the ringer washing machines needed constant surveillance, to 

prevent a baby in a high chair from becoming fascinated enough with the sound to

stick a tiny finger in the rollers.

Since those days, we've became accustomed to the automatic washers. These

marvelous upgrades to the ringer washers could remember how to fill, rinse and spin with the twist of a few dials.  

They're like the R2D2 version of the ringer washer.

Well, if the automatic washing machine is R2D2, then the new addition to our

laundry room (arrived yesterday) is now a Close Encounter of the Third Kind's cousin.  

While trying out our alien, I swear it caused me to revert back to being something like

the toddler in the high chair. My husband and I watched, hypnotized, while this new, computerized alien washer created red and yellow lights. Then, it started making noises different than what we were accustomed to hearing.  "It can't be working," I said, as we were nearly abducted by the machine's electronics. It's like we'd been"struck by the light", because it was impossible for us to move while we marveled at the electronics.  

"But, does it wash cloths?"  

Well, we just had to call the Maytag "help line".  

"So, our question, is this machine supposed to wash cloths without filling

the stainless steel tub with water", Dick asked?

"Yes", was the response.  "And, that noise, like it's gasping for breath, is

that normal too?".  "Yes".   It turned out, the "Maytag help line" could've had

a R2D2 responding.  "We receive a lot of calls with these questions," the help  line

operator said.  She was trying to be reassuring.

So, we had no choice but to let the alien washing machine run its cycle.

End of story - our cloths were amazingly clean.  Dick says he's never seen

such clean "skivvies". So, in other words, he's been wearing dirty skivvies all these

years?  Who knew?

And the moral of my story is this. Just because a washing machine doesn't have an "Aaaaa-taaaa" agitator, doesn't mean it's an alien in the laundry room.  

Regardless of how mysterious our new washing machine is, when compared to our "automatic" way of thinking, I'm certainly delighted to never return to the "Aaaaa-taaaa" of those high chair days.  

We'll keep Julie's digital washing machine.  Thank you Maytag.

In fact, it's an efficient washer because it reads the needs of the cloths as soon as the little red and yellow lights start their mysterious flashing.  

Juliana L'Heureux
One Turkey Run
Topsham Maine 04086
Cell: 207-751-8117
Home: 207-721-9629
email: juliana@mainewriter.com
email: oneturkeyrun@comcast.net
email: juliewriter@hotmail.com
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