the big thaw

The refrigerator at Claudia's in Block Island is shut down for the season.

 My life is filled with refrigerators. I have five. One of them (the beer refrigerator I keep in the living room) came with my apartment and has to be defrosted the old fashioned way—with pans of hot water. The other one I bought when we brought Hannah home to New York at age one. That would mean it will be 35 years old in January. It looks pretty beat up (see below), but it is still running. And running. And running. I decided to give it a break, but I'm not ready to give it up. I looked at all the new ones that will fit in my space, and they all seem less than.
   The 1950s Frigidaire I had in Missouri worked pretty well, except for this habit it had of freezing my vegetables. And it was very beautiful. But after it went through the flood, I gave up and bought a new one that will likely last about five years.
   In Block Island over the course of the last 17 years at Claudia's, I have had to buy three refrigerators. At Hannah's I have already bought two in 10 years. Not a great record considering they only run for three or four months a year. There are brownouts and power surges; there is salt air. And it may not be good for them to be turned on and off.
   So I was worried when I turned off the 35-year-old in New York. It has run continuously since 1983—except for the famous blackouts. I guess I felt sorry for it, held together with duct tape as it is. Stay tuned for word on whether it goes back on.

The 35-year-old workhorse in New York is cleaned up and allowed to dry out.