Good Enough for Grandma

If you read my  meditation on cleaning you will remember how much I love to vacuum (not!) For some time my little red Miele vacuum cleaner has just been an exercise in dragging a recalcitrant dead weight around the house, catching dog hair in the brush but not accomplishing much else.

Today I finally got around to taking the patient to the hospital vacuum cleaner repair store where it was pronounced D.O.A. It's heart is weak, several  joints are broken, and and replacements are no longer obtainable. Having delivered the diagnosis, the man (he told me his name was Max) said, "Have you thought about upgrading?" I said, to Max, "are you kidding me?"

When I thought about it, I realized that the patient was positively geriatric, although I still thought of it as new. After Max showed me the "upgrade" possibilities I told Max, weakly,  that I would need to go consult with my bank manager before I could make a decision. Leaving him to bury the corpse of my old vacuum, I came home. As I got out of the car in the garage, I saw a broom leaning against the wall. Somewhat irrelevantly  I thought  of the broom maker in Arkansas who told me , "never stand a broom on its sweep" . I wondered how else you were supposed to stand it

Then  a more relevant thought struck me as I admired the pattern it made standing there in the corner….it was good enough for my grandmother….