The other day while cruising through one of our vestibules I bumped into this crew of geriatric vacuum cleaners waiting to be sent off for recycling. They had been accumulating under the back stairs apparently. One by one they got to the state when no more life could be coaxed from them and so, obviously, they were not able to do any more work.
I happen to think there is something rather fine about the way we keep our electrical equipment going for as long as we do. This is because of thrift considerations of course, and also about just taking care of things. Just like we take care of people when they break or are wearing out.
This afternoon I visited an elderly woman. In an attempt to stop her books and many belongings from sliding onto the floor I retrieved an old fashioned address metal holder from the bottom of the pile. It was obviously the cause of the precarious arrangement. Untrapped, it sprang open! 'Oh, I keep it there because it won't close any more'. Some things just keep on having a life don't they, just like this bright lady.
Can we ever do enough to honour and respect the wise ones, who wear out slowly and in the process teach so much?
