February 13, 2003
Dear Everyone:
Happy Valentine’s Day to all.
My dishwasher is still on the disabled list. After nearly three weeks, I called the repair service and was informed that they were waiting for a replacement pump which apparently had to be ordered from the manufacturer. So I’m still washing everything by hand.
Now I realize that this is hardly the end of the world. There was a time when I would have expected to draw water from the well, or stream, take it into the house, add wood to the stove and heat the water before I could even begin to wash dishes. Remember: When Mother was once asked what was the greatest modern convenience in the world, she replied, “When you turn a tap and hot water comes out.”
Actually, it’s not the washing that’s a problem. It’s what to do with the glasses and dishes after they’ve been used and before you find time to wash them. I go through a minimum of three glasses per day. In two days, that’s six glasses. Another day and it’s nine glasses. And cups. And flatware. And even, occasionally, actual dishes.
Someone once told me that dishwasher manufacturers should advertise their products as “additional under counter storage”. It generally takes me a week to fill the dishwasher. On the plus side, this means I only use it once a week, thus saving on hot water and electricity. And I admit that sometimes it takes me another week to get around to emptying the dishwasher.
Or, to be more exact, I empty it three glasses per day until there’s no more counter space.
And, no, I haven’t been using the dishwasher to store the used glasses, dishes, etc., because I kept expecting a call to say the repairman would be out the next day and I’d have to empty the dishwasher really, really fast. And, yes, I certainly intend to wash things every evening, but if I did that tonight there’d be no Letter, now would there? One must set priorities, mustn’t one?
Sooner or later, the dishwasher will get fixed and then I’ll savor the luxury of it that much more. In the meantime…
Poor “Jeannie”! Last week it was her car. This week, a tooth. February just doesn’t seem to be her month. Granted, that tooth has been due for quite some time, but it couldn’t wait until a month with no ‘R’s in it? She’s been to the dentist and the tooth (actually a whole lot of teeth) will be taken care of and it’s not like anyone’s dropping bombs on our heads, now is it?
Nevertheless, February is proving to be vexatious. And “Jeannie” is still waiting for Get Well Cards. The one I sent arrived the very next day.
So let’s talk about movies instead.
Unfortunately, the one I saw last weekend wasn’t very good. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is about a writer for one of those women’s magazines. Played by Kate Hudson (Goldie Hawn’s daughter), the writer really wants to be a serious journalist, but the only job she can find is writing “How to…” columns. Her latest assignment is to pick a guy at random, “make” him fall in love with her, then drive him away with all the stupid things women do in relationships. And do it in ten days.
Matthew McConaughey plays an ad man who can land a great account if he can just win a bet by making a woman fall in love with him in much the same time frame. Add the complication that some rivals for the same account already know about the writer’s assignment.
If this seems a bit contrived to you, consider a classic romantic comedy involving Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and a domesticated leopard named “Baby”. The two main characters do have some chemistry together. And there are some fairly funny moments. But in the end, you have two people who are trying to establish a relationship based on falsehoods on both sides; so of course they’re going to fall in love for real, only to screw it up before the inevitable “happy” ending. All in all, it’s rather flat. Best wait until next time. I’ll even save you the trouble by delivering the best line in the movie:
“Tone deaf and drunk. Never a good combination.”
So true.
Love, as always,
Pete
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