Archive for June, 2010

Literary Mileage
Lament for My Iron…

Monday, June 28th, 2010

After 42 years of sterling performance, my iron sputtered and died last week. The Black & Decker with seven heat and fabric settings was a wedding present in 1968. Its lifespan included an eleven-year marriage, a stint living in Italy, the birth and growth of two sons, a divorce, eight residential moves, sharing space (including the ironing board) with six different cats and one dog, and resting its final years on a closet shelf when I wasn’t using it.

I appreciate its steady reliability, in contrast to that long ago marriage. It’s not that I’ve ever ironed compulsively. But ironing is one household chore I can do mindlessly while watching television. It involves a series of short range ‘projects’ that have a precise beginning and end—a nice antidote to the majority of life that is far more ragged and wrinkled. As fabrics have changed over time, I’ve ironed less and less. However, it is summer now and I wear a lot of cotton and linen, which benefit from an iron—a crisp look before a humidity meltdown.

What I remember most vividly about my now deceased Black & Decker was how important it was when I used to make all my clothes and many of my sons’ when they were toddlers. I also sewed pleated drapes and gifts (including some pretty awful polyester men’s ties at one point). Ironing a ¼-inch hem on a curtain or pressing open a seam on a skirt were critical parts of the sewing process.

I like the ‘whoosh’ when the steam releases and the smell of different fabrics when heated-especially wool. I’ve rarely scorched anything, but I do have a crescent-shaped burn scar on my stomach from ironing something in a hurry when I was only half-dressed.

Yesterday I bought a new Black & Decker, similar to the old one. It is sobering to realize that there is no way I’ll outlive this one.

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