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| Lucy |
Have you been to a laundromat
lately? I hadn’t—until our aging calico
cat had a little digestive problem that she resolved by tossing her cookies in the middle of a white puffy comforter in the
guest bedroom.
I have a large-capacity top-loading
washer, but try as I might, I couldn’t stuff that queen-sized pouf into it. No
problem, I’d just run it by Funwash, a washeteria that advertises drop-off
service. I could pick it up later in the afternoon after I finished my errands.
Easy peasy—until the attendant
quoted the price: $38.15
Wait a minute. I bought that
comforter at Target on sale. It seemed dumb to pay more than half of what it
cost just to have it washed.
Washed, not dry-cleaned. Washed
in a washing machine!
Nope. I’m too cheap. I’d do it
myself.
Did you know it costs $5 to wash a
load of laundry in a commercial-size front loader? FIVE DOLLARS. That’s 20 solid
QUARTERS.
Who carries around 20 quarters?
But no sweat, there were a couple of change machines that take several denominations
of bills—as long as they aren’t worn or wrinkled. I read the instructions, got my
quarters and moved to the washer where I read more instructions. (I read a lot that day.)
I put
the comforter in the washer and shut the door as Step One instructed.
Step Two was about adding detergent
to the dispenser. But where was the dispenser? I couldn't find it.
When I confessed my quandary to a nice lady nearby, she confided she’d had the
same problem the first time she washed there. The dispenser door was hidden on
top of the washer—above this short person's line of vision.
After I fed my 20 quarters into
the machine, I settled down to wait at a table with sticky circles that smelled like
orange soda. My rescuer watched Let’s Make a Deal from another spot.
(The lady dressed like a sunflower won a new living room suite when she traded
diamond earrings for a mystery prize behind the curtain. But when the woman in the
Wilma Flintstone outfit took a chance on an envelope and lost everything, I switched
to watching the patrons.)
The clatter of the washers and dryers drowned
out the conversation of a woman talking on her cell phone. A man around my age folded his clothes at a nearby station, but it was small, so he
used the floor as a surface to fold his sheets.
I thought, Hmm, and you washed
them, why?
I moseyed over and talked to a young woman across the way who was ironing her jeans on a commercial
presser. She told me it cost $2 for 20
minutes. You can press a lot in 20 minutes.
By the time the wash cycle ended,
I had spent nearly an hour and a half at Funwash. I opted to take the comforter home to dry it. On my way, I thanked God for my trusty washer and dryer, and I asked Him to bless all the
friendly, helpful people I encountered there.
I didn’t put it back on the
bed. The upkeep is just too much for me. So if anyone can use a white cotton queen-size
poufy comforter, let me know. But keep in mind, you’ll need a big washer to
keep it clean.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, forbearance,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness...
Gal.5:22
