Our dishwasher appears to have been made in 1975. Magic Chef. We’ve lived in this house 6 years, and every once in a while the dishwasher starts to act like maybe it’s finally on its last legs, but just about the time the research on a new one causes me to throw my hands up in despair, it suddenly heals itself and we all carry on again. What happened to America?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I mentioned on Sunday that an average dishwasher lasts 9 years. Mine died at 7. That 1975 model may wind up in the Smithsonian someday! 😂
Heath, I have the utmost respect for you as a writer and a human being. I'm also not easily offended. But this line actually made me angry: "I’m wondering if I should have just waited the three months for the Bosch, although it would mean hand washing every dish for a quarter of 2023. As much as I may aspire to it at times, I’m definitively not Amish."
My response to this is, yes, you should've waited three months for the Bosch. As someone who grew up for 28 years without a dishwasher, and only learned how to use one when I was 29, I find it extremely ridiculous that you would compare having to wash dishes by hand for three months to becoming Amish.
I know this was a joke, obviously, but it was in poor taste. Your Wednesday walks have been a highlight of my week for a few months now, but now I'm extremely disappointed that this is the way you express disgust at the results of your own impatience.
I appreciate the critique, Amelia and certainly did not mean to offend. There are of course millions of people that live without a dishwasher, but like any modern convenience, once you've started using one, it's hard to go back. In my circumstance, cooking every meal at home for my family, it was becoming an annoyance that needed to be remedied. As I wrote on Sunday, there's no guarantee that waiting months (and paying more) for the Bosch would've given me any better results either, as build quality across the board seems to be on the decline.
As for the Amish piece of it, a through-line of my work has been my ongoing fascination with the Amish. I do not align with them religiously, but I do agree with their approach to work and a mediated approach to technology (I linked to an older piece where I elaborated on this in detail). I spent time in Lancaster County last year and read Donald Kraybill, who is one of the foremost Amish scholars. I meant no disrespect to Amish people, but rather saw this as a continuation of a thread I've pulled at for a long time on whether or not I would want to adapt to that lifestyle myself.
I'm sorry if what I said was offensive or was misunderstood. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Build quality is absolutely a problem for sure. Actually I'm glad I read this because now I know when I need a new dishwasher it won't be GE!
I know you were really just trying to tie into that previous post, which was a good one, but that really wasn't a good way to do it. That being said, I knew you meant no disrespect, but I'm sure I'm not the only person who was taken aback by that remark, so I wanted to clear the air about it. Look forward to your Sunday piece as always.
Our dishwasher appears to have been made in 1975. Magic Chef. We’ve lived in this house 6 years, and every once in a while the dishwasher starts to act like maybe it’s finally on its last legs, but just about the time the research on a new one causes me to throw my hands up in despair, it suddenly heals itself and we all carry on again. What happened to America?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I mentioned on Sunday that an average dishwasher lasts 9 years. Mine died at 7. That 1975 model may wind up in the Smithsonian someday! 😂
Heath, I have the utmost respect for you as a writer and a human being. I'm also not easily offended. But this line actually made me angry: "I’m wondering if I should have just waited the three months for the Bosch, although it would mean hand washing every dish for a quarter of 2023. As much as I may aspire to it at times, I’m definitively not Amish."
My response to this is, yes, you should've waited three months for the Bosch. As someone who grew up for 28 years without a dishwasher, and only learned how to use one when I was 29, I find it extremely ridiculous that you would compare having to wash dishes by hand for three months to becoming Amish.
I know this was a joke, obviously, but it was in poor taste. Your Wednesday walks have been a highlight of my week for a few months now, but now I'm extremely disappointed that this is the way you express disgust at the results of your own impatience.
I appreciate the critique, Amelia and certainly did not mean to offend. There are of course millions of people that live without a dishwasher, but like any modern convenience, once you've started using one, it's hard to go back. In my circumstance, cooking every meal at home for my family, it was becoming an annoyance that needed to be remedied. As I wrote on Sunday, there's no guarantee that waiting months (and paying more) for the Bosch would've given me any better results either, as build quality across the board seems to be on the decline.
As for the Amish piece of it, a through-line of my work has been my ongoing fascination with the Amish. I do not align with them religiously, but I do agree with their approach to work and a mediated approach to technology (I linked to an older piece where I elaborated on this in detail). I spent time in Lancaster County last year and read Donald Kraybill, who is one of the foremost Amish scholars. I meant no disrespect to Amish people, but rather saw this as a continuation of a thread I've pulled at for a long time on whether or not I would want to adapt to that lifestyle myself.
I'm sorry if what I said was offensive or was misunderstood. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Build quality is absolutely a problem for sure. Actually I'm glad I read this because now I know when I need a new dishwasher it won't be GE!
I know you were really just trying to tie into that previous post, which was a good one, but that really wasn't a good way to do it. That being said, I knew you meant no disrespect, but I'm sure I'm not the only person who was taken aback by that remark, so I wanted to clear the air about it. Look forward to your Sunday piece as always.