John - No kidding. I especially like the time signature of the unbalanced load.

Adorable - Do you want me to come play for you?

Well. No one does, Mr. Jones. The point is — is that one should have as few regrets as possible. So, make your decision with that thought in mind.

You know the old saying…something like, No one ever says on their deathbed….”I wish I would’ve stayed at the office more.”

Will you be lying there thinking….I wish I would’ve bought that washer and dryer….” ??

Blue Girl - Your question touches the shocking third rail of Baby Boomerdom in the 21st Century. To be blunt, I don’t know just how near my death bed is. Given that uncertainty, what’s the correct path? Should I make sure the sheets are clean, or party like it’s 1969?

Many, many years into the future, you are lying on your death bed. And this old choice of yours pops into your mind. And you remember what you chose.

Do you then smile? Or frown?

Remember the hierarchy of needs?

Because it’s the mundane things that can (but not necessarily do) make it possible for us to contemplate the infinite/eternity. The mundane things still have to be done; the secret is to minimize the hassle and time and effort involved in doing them, which is a secret not everyone learns. That is, many people take the new technology and expand their expectations as well (housework is actually a stunning example of this, and I can point you to several fine histories about it–as the machinery became available, standards of cleanliness went up, too, and the work fell more exclusively to woman rather than being shared around the household).

If I had a washer/dryer in my apartment, I would also buy a couple of extra laundry baskets, and when one got full, I’d go ahead and wash that load, while I did something else. Now, I end up having to collect quarters and go downstairs a few times and so on; I don’t know what I’d do if I had to go to the laundromat, as I don’t have a car and it SNOWS here.

Seriously, I could write much more about this, but will stop now.

The votes for Eternity are poetic and irrational, the votes for the Franklin Stove make perfect passionate sense. Then there is kStyle, ever-creative, who has suggested a way to have it all, even if it means a little delayed gratification; and Kathleen, who implies that Eternity might be a bit frivolous for her, but prefers to live in a world of Eternal Frivolity — as long as she has good appliances.

I confess I still haven’t made up my mind, and the fifty-fifty nature of your responses has not helped. Every recording I hear now was made with a Telecaster. Lately I’ve been listening to Mudcrutch. That’s a Tele you hear. Sweet! But if I had an extra couple of hours a week to practice instead of going to the laundromat, maybe I could play that good, too. But I wouldn’t have a Tele. You see my problem?

So I’m still looking for a sign, or a perfect argument for one way or the other: Eternity or The Franklin Stove. In the mean time, you’re right, Blue Girl: I really should write something about the laundromat.