Back in the late ‘80s, when I was in junior high, I became sick of being a member of the only middle class family in the US that did not have a microwave. I decided to take matters into my own hands and remedy the situation. My sister agreed that a microwave would be a good thing to have, and we scraped up our feeble savings to surprise our mom with a microwave for Mother’s Day. (Don’t you love gifts that the whole family can enjoy? Once, at my mom’s request, we bought her several new trash cans as a Mother’s Day gift, but I digress.)
Of course, as we lived in the suburbs and did not drive due to our youthful states, we did not have access to many stores. We walked to whatever shops we could, but quickly acknowledged that we needed help and brought our dad in on the plan. Once my dad was contributing towards the gift, our budget also changed considerably. We were able to purchase a decent, middle of the line microwave perfect for our quirky middle of the line family. That microwave is still proudly in use today, at least 16 years after it was purchased.
The old age of the microwave freaks my mom out, as she worries that it could be leaking dangerous, well, microwaves and radiation and whatnot when she nukes anything. My logical solution is to get a new microwave and not risk it. Prices have certainly dropped significantly on the technology that was new-fangled at least 20 years ago. My mother, however, sees no reason not to use it until it is determined to be unsafe. How pray tell, might one find that out, short of discovering that my parents are glowing green? It seems that my mom read in some town newsletter that it is possible to have an inspector of some sort visit your home out a few times a year and test the radiation from your microwave for free. I’m sure that the town is offering this service because they assumed that no one in their right mind would use it, as normal people who can afford it would rather just buy a new microwave for $60. Obviously, they were wrong, and while I was talking to my mom recently about the inspector’s most recent visit to my parents’ house, she told me how much she enjoyed using such a valuable free service. (Fortunately, the microwave is OK.)
Perhaps this Mother’s Day, I should just buy my mom a new microwave.
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Let me set you straight, dear daughter. The health sanitarian, as she is titled,has been coming to our home for quite a few years now. I am not worried about dangerous radiation levels. Rather,I figure that not too many people use her services, so to keep her from feeling forgotten and neglected, I have been inviting her to our mansion for the annual inspection. It is a very kind gesture on my part. Agree?
ReplyDeleteP.S. How about a new garbage can for Mother's Day? The old one is quite shabby.
i'm impressed by the resilience of your parent's microwave. my parents have gone through 4 microwaves in the last 10 years(no joke). i'm not sure what they do to them, but the damn things just stop working and now sit in a corner of the garage...
ReplyDeleteMy parents' first microwave, bought in the 1980s with Christmas money from my Granny, who died in '85, is currently in my classroom, and successfully heats my frozen lunch entree every day.
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