I feel like an old geezer, said Bob.
Things just aren’t made the way they used to be.
I thought he meant the five-year-old Frigidaire freezer that failed.
The numerous printers that lasted a year or two.
The cellphones, laptops engineered to be traded in three.
In contrast to the chest freezer at our old house.
Humming along for thirty years.
Or the Amana refrigerator left behind at the new one.
Made in 1996, still working.
But then, my brain lit up.
Maybe he just meant he’s not the way he used to be.
Eroding with age.
Not running like he did.
Fraying tendons in fingers.
Cardiac electrical glitches.
Degenerating spinal discs.
Though made well at the start,
wear and tear take a toll.
Who wants late life jobs
in quality control?
Lynn Benjamin
December 11, 2023