When my much-loved iron starting throwing sparks, I had to face replacing it.  To me, buying new appliances is right up there with eating lima beans—to be avoided, if possible.  But of course, one can’t live without a working iron.

So I hustled to the nearest box store and chose the same brand (different model because they are always different) and thought I was done.  Unfortunately, the iron was awkward to handle and it steamed erratically.  I took it back to the store and asked several salespeople if they could recommend a replacement, but no one knew anything about irons.

I chose a different brand, took it home, ironed a shirt and realized that iron was worse than the first one.  So I returned it, came home, and ordered a well-reviewed iron online, one of many choices.  I’ll have it in a few days. 

I often made fun of my parents when they said, “They don’t make things like they used to.”  If they were alive, I’d apologize.