Influenced choices
Proof that I’m easily entertained (or lethargic): the TV is tuned to a documentary on the life of pigeons. In summary, the difference between rollers and tumblers is still not clear. And I am older, by an hour.
Whether or not our lives are ruled by “mad men” is of minor importance. When you try to shop by comparison, you will bend to their will. We’re trying to sort out the choice of our next vacuum cleaner. In the old days, someone with a need to sell would come to the door and leave you with more machine than you would ever need. I know; our family bought a wonderful ‘Lux back when it came with a box that doubled as a padded seat for all the kids. We knew how to make it suck AND blow, how to replace the filters and bags, how to retract the cord with a snap! Masters of the machine.
Alas, there hasn’t been an itinerant salesman come by, in decades. Instead, we read dozens of online spec sheets and reviews that bear the smell of a shill. We price point until the numbers mash together. We finally stop by the nearest box store and pay the price. The exorbitant price. For something that won’t be in service fifty years on (unlike that ‘Lux). In fact, some of the attachments might not make it past the first careless collision with a doorframe: “I swear, it jumped out of nowhere” isn’t going to get you out of the blame game, either.
The online shopping is fun (in a sad way), but the reality is expensive. Nothing else.
