The Wash Tub

I had these two friends. They were so reliable. I could really depend on them to be there whenever I needed them. They always helped me look clean and fresh.

Then one day a mean man took them without asking.

I really miss my washer and dryer.

It turns out that they are irreplaceable due to my current deplorable economic situation.

So now I do my laundry at The Wash Tub. 

In the beginning, I was afraid of The Wash Tub. To me coin laundries had all the appeal of biker bars and fast-food restaurants. But can I tell you something? The Wash Tub is not such a bad place at all.

I do my laundry there on Monday mornings. There is a little old couple there that I like to watch. She is the one in charge and bosses him around a bit and will only let him fold the towels. I can't really blame her, though. There is a fine art to folding shirts that I don't think the male gender really grasps.

It is his job to carry the baskets out to the car when they are full. It is a team effort that is heartwarming to watch.

You can pay a little more to leave your laundry there and have Helen, the attendant with a very bad blond dye job and the high-pitched voice of a five-year-old fold your clothes for you. But I happen to know that Larry the welder, with just one leg, gets this service done for free. It is pretty clear that Helen has the hots for him.

I get a lot of compliments at The Wash Tub. The clientele seems fascinated by my agility in folding while at the same time keeping an eye out for when a dryer turns off. They like how I stop mid-fold and run to plug more quarters into the machine. One woman was dazzled when I removed some items that were dry and continued to dry the remaining items in order to get the most from my quarters.

"I've never tried that," she said. "That is very clever."

In the easy days, I did my laundry in between other household chores. Put a load in, unload the dishwasher, wipe down the kitchen counter, pack a lunch, put the clothes in the dryer. Get dressed, put on my make-up, fold the clothes. Clean the cat litter box, water the front flower pot, shove the basket on my hip and bring it upstairs to unload.

Now it is just the laundry all by itself until it is done. It is one thing now that can't be hurried. And there is something kind of nice about that.