The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Since tomorrow is Easter, we'll have a house full of family and guests. Son Tony is already in town; sons Brian and Donald are arriving tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll go to Mass, then come home and do last-minute preparation before the rest of the extended family rolls in for dinner. Among other things, I'm providing a turkey for the meal. To make things easier, I decided to roast the turkey today, and turn the slicing over to the males in the house.

Our electric knife is late-1960s vintage. I remember giving the GE "Custom Electric Slicing Knife" to MY dad as a Father's Day present many years ago. From the start, the knife only got used a few times a year; I guess that's why it's lasted so long. The box, which proudly proclaimed the knife was Made In USA, is pretty decrepit looking, but once the blades are attached to the tan and brown knife body appearances don't matter.

However, everything good has to come to an end. Halfway through Tony's turkey carving the knife sputtered, sent a small jolt of electricity through his hand, and stopped. Knowing it had sliced its last, Tony unplugged it and set it aside to throw in the trash.

However, Son Tony had a different idea. He asked if he could disassemble the knife before it got tossed. He's an engineer by profession, and I could tell he relished the idea of seeing the innards of an electrical appliance designed long before he was born. I gave him the same answer he got when he was ten years old and trying to figure out how things worked....it was ok with me as long as he cleaned it all up!

After several trips downstairs for different types of tools, the dismantling started. When Tony was finished, everything was reduced to its smallest components and the table was full of random electrical parts. He tried to describe the motor's operation to me, but it pretty much went over my head.

And, as promised, he did clean everything up when he was finished!