July 7, 2005
Dear Everyone:
For some reason, I seem to make major purchases after getting my hair cut.
Last year, you may recall, “Jeannie” and I went to a video store and each bought a new LCD television after our hair appointment. It was the hairdresser who recommended the store.
Last Saturday, we were again getting our hair done and talking about the fact that I needed to get a new bed. I’ve known for at least a year now that my bed had passed its allotted 15 years of good usability. The general rule is: Buy a new bed every 15 years, whether it needs it or not.
Lately, I’ve been waking up with sore back muscles, especially on the weekends. This is probably because it’s the only time that I stay in bed long enough for the muscles to get sore overnight. Nevertheless, I need a new bed and that’s what we talked about at the hairdresser.
She mentioned a new discount mattress showroom in
downtown
(“Richard”, or “Marshall”, I can’t remember which, called “Jeannie” once and asked what the difference was between a pillow case and a sham. Her reply: “About $80.”)
So, after our hair was done, we set out to find the discount mattress showroom. As soon as we walked in the door a young salesman (we’ll call him “Sergei”) made a beeline for us. “Jeannie” announced that I needed a new bed. “Sergei” wanted to know what kind of bed?
I dunnoh. (Actually, I did. Top of the line and don’t spare the horses.)
“Sergei” started going through the paces of detailing the relative merits of this style versus that. After about five minutes, “Jeannie” cut to the chase: “What are your two top of the line models?” “Sergei” changed course instantly and brought us to two large beds near the entrance where we had come in. Like many of the other beds in the store, they were quite high off the floor. I knew that mattresses were thicker these days, because I had seen many fitted bottom sheets advertised as “deep pockets”.
Now, when I got dressed that morning, I knew I was going to get my hair cut, which means choosing a top with a neckline well away from the back of the neck. No collar to catch all those little, tiny hairs. And a skirt because it’s summer and I tend to wear skirts in the summer. They’re cooler. I didn’t know that I would be trying to climb up onto a bed that stands at least 30 inches above the floor.
“Sergei” wanted me to try both beds out to see which one I liked.
“Just hop up there,” “Jeannie” recommended. I don’t hop. And I don’t climb in a skirt. It took a level of teamwork for me to get up onto each of the beds. It took me seconds to decide which one I liked best.
After that, it was all over but the credit card. And convincing “Sergei” and his cohorts that we really didn’t need the $150 “extra” sheets and pillow cases that would ordinarily come with the bed. “Jeannie” has turned me into a linen snob. Nothing below 300 thread count for me. Egyptian cotton, if you please.
The new bed is due to arrive this Saturday. The house is relatively clean. I’ll get the under-the-bed boxes and featherbed out of the way before the deliverymen come. They will take away the old mattress and box spring. They will not take away the old metal bed frame or the headboard that never fit the frame in the first place. But if they will just carry them downstairs to the patio for me, I can take care of the rest.
Then, of course, I’ll need to go out and buy new pillows, sheets, pillow cases, etc. And yes, I already have a little wooden stool that I will use to climb up to the bed.
Only two more nights left to go.
Love, as always,
Pete
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