The repairman said he felt terrible; he was truly sorry to be the bearer of bad news...but there was nothing that could be done to save my parents' refrigerator. Their 4-year-old Amana would have to be commended to the nearest recycling team, which, after stripping whatever metal might be worth something, will haul the remains to a landfill where they'll rest for the next 20 generations or so.
One hopes for something good to come out of this sad tale; a scientific advance, perhaps...or a life lesson--anything to prevent other families from going through the same pain. I was thinking our local newspaper might have run an inspirational story (my calls to the city desk went unanswered). Probably, these events are both too commonplace and depressing for them to burden an already overwhelmed public.
Here then, is the humble lesson, borrowed from the wisdom of many cultures that recognize this universal truth: "You get what you pay for." Put another way, "the very cheapest will cost you dearly." Or as a friend's Croatian grandmother said more than once, "I'm not rich enough to afford the cheapest."
Wisdom like that should guide us, help us from making painful mistakes. Sad to say, my parents once again opted for a fairly cheap refrigerator...but this time with my blessing. It appears to be a slightly more reliable brand and should get them through at least another 5 or 6 years--and may even outlive them. In any case, I'm not holding my breath...
