Washing Machine

Have you ever thought about what a dull name we have for the machine that washes our clothes?  I've never thought of it without picturing this fabulous labor saving device in my head and therefore not really focusing on the words- just the image.  Believe me, after living for two years without one and having to wash everything by hand, when I think of a washing machine, it's always with a warm glow of loveliness. But this week as I was doing some searching for specs on the damn things it struck me how dumb the name is.  Washing Machine.  I imagine that it was perhaps one of the first 'machines' available to be sold to individual consumers and was named such because machine had such futuristic, tech-y, connotations.  What would have happened if that trend had continued and we put our bread in the 'toasting machine' and then poured our morning beverage from the 'coffee making machine'?  It kind of cracks me up.  Which is a good thing because nothing else about the breakdown of our once trusted machine is too funny.  Especially the bill for the new one.

Ok- there is one other funny thing..... How it all happened.  I was home unexpectedly from work to care for a slightly ill Theo.  Only he wasn't really needing any tending so I decided to get something done that I had been putting off for a long time gave the bathroom a deep clean.  I threw the plastic shower curtain and bath mat in the washing machine.  Like I have done many times (although not nearly as often as I should).  Once it hit the spin cycle it clearly got out of balance and started knocking around so loudly I could hear it from the second floor.  I ran down, redistributed the load and then restarted the spin.  I decided to wait around to hear if it would get off balance again.  As I stood there, leaning on the machine, my mind drifted.  The spin started and then just seemed to get faster and faster and faster- going like I have never heard it spin before.  Instead of taking any action, I got lured into a daydream, wondering if this is what it sounded like to hear a helicopter take off.  From inside my basement.  I came out of it when the screeching, whirling noise hit a crescendo with a loud pop.  Then complete silence.  I admit that it made me chuckle.  Ok,enough for today, I need to go and get myself some water out of the refrigerating machine.