GROWING OLDER. WANTING THINGS

As I grow older I find myself wanting more
and more things in that 'how have I lived
this long without a salad spinner' kind of
way. It's not that I really lose touch with
what I really need in life it's just that
appliances that once looked dull, useless
and expensive suddenly appear so shiny and
eye catching.

As a kid, I grew up in a house that was
fairly behind the times as far as technical
appliances went. We had a tiny TV with just
a few channels. My father, a man with his
own PR business typed on a typewriter way
until the early nineties. While most families
had moved on to CD players we still had a
record player and two speakers the size of
dorm room mini-fridges. By the time I left
for school my parents still had a red rotary
phone that hung on the wall and one of those
toasters with a black and silver cloth cord
that looked as if it might burst into flames
at any second.

The ironic part of all this is that if there
were ever an impatient family of five that
qualified for some fast action appliances it
would be ours. For years we ate meals half
defrosted too impatient and without a microwave
to let food thaw properly. As kids we walked
around in damp jeans and shirts still wet
around the cuffs, too impatient to let our
1950's dryer go yet another twenty minutes
(per cuff) until our clothes were finally
dry.

When I came home during my first Thanksgiving
break things had really changed. Call it empty
nest or whatever but my family bought a big
screen TV. They bought a push button phone.
They not only bought a CD player but a five
disk changer complete with a remote. It was
like leaving behind E.B. White's cabin in
Maine and returning to one of Michael
Douglas's homes in LA. Totally bizarre.

The latest thing I have my eye on much to my
man's dismay is a dishwasher. We entertain so
much and each party-no matter if we have two
people or six over-leaves us with at least
two days of dish washing. Either we get rid
of all our plates, never entertain again or
I say mama's coming home with a shiny new
toy.