That first oven
There are many gadgets out there. There are many devices that will save you time. Today I will look back on my first contact with a microwave oven. Passively. I had seen the 1st commercials if you will on network game shows. The oven was a prize that many wanted. But there were none in my area. Too expensive and too rare. So, in the summer of 1974, when I went to work in a local factory. I noticed an oven in the lunch room. With a brand name that I had seen on television. And I could hardly wait for my chance to line up and use it. I skipped making a sandwich at home and found a can of still in the cupboard. I even remembered to pick up a bowl on my way out of the house. And at lunchtime I was one of the first in the line. I poured my can of stew into the bowl and I set it inside the oven. I then took the advice of a bystander and pushed run. And stood back to watch the show in the window of the oven. Nothing spectacular. I saw my stew go from heavily congealed fat to liquefied fat and when the bell rang I took my lunch off to a nearby table to get things done in my allowed twenty minutes before heading back to the factory floor. In passing I was making trailer axles in those days. This too was good. Things were warm most of the way through and the amazing thing was that there was no need to wash any pots or pans in the preparation of my meal. Just my bowl. This was one of those devices that I would place in my home at the first opportunity. It required saving a lot of money mind you because a microwave oven in those days had the same value as a real oven. From what I remember. I had never actually seen a price tag other than the one on the TV game shows. But it was clear that I would have to save a lot more of my salary before I would come home with my own personal oven. In fact that did not happen for almost a decade. Life goes by quickly when you are poor.
Read the rest of this entry »posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on That first oven | 389 words
