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Major Appliance Peril


storage facility.JPG“It’s making that loud squealing noise again.”

That’s what my wife greeted me with when I got home from work a few days ago. Our clothes dryer had finally died—the “squeaking noise” was its last gasp—and she had already located a good deal on a washer and dryer on Craigslist for a price that even we could afford. Bing-bang-boom. Now all we had to do is get those beasts in their proper places.

I met the seller at the storage facility where the appliances were being held. I walked into the dark room first, with the guy standing in the doorway behind me. That’s when it happened—at least in my mind. The thought that popped unbidden into my head was, What if this guy slams the door down and puts a gun in my face?

What on earth made me think such a thing? Why? This fellow was really friendly and was even offering to help me lug the stuff upstairs in my home. Door-to-door service and then some. But you wanna know what I was thinking? I’m not bringing a guy home with me who I don’t know. I don’t want him to know where I live!

So I declined his generous offer, and he held out his business card and told me that if we had any problems with either appliance to give him a call. As I was driving home, I wondered why or what made me think those things. Have I played too many violent video games? Should I call Quentin Tarantino to ask him how he sleeps at night? Is popular entertainment to blame for my negative outlook on others? This helpful soul in particular? Or am I just being sensible, guarding myself from the dangerous sorts who really are out there?

How about you? Do you sometimes wonder if your entertainment choices have painted a gloomier picture of life than is needful? Is it just me?