During those seven magical years we spent growing up on that old familiar street not so far away called Flamingo, Dad said many times, “You’ll be lucky if you can count the number of true friends you have on one hand. They will be the ones you can count on, anytime day or night, during an emergency. Cherish them; they’ll help you get through life.” He was right. Unfortunately, the Wife and I lost just such a friend last weekend.

Our friend was a vital part of our family life, a tireless worker that never complained. From time to time, you could hear a mysterious banging or squeaking coming from the room, but when we investigated, just a minor adjustment was needed to make everything fine once again. Always dependable, our friend helped us get through the last ten years. But there comes a point in the life of everything when it’s time for renewal. Unfortunately, our old, broken-down friend will be very pricey to replace. Confused? Just keep reading, Dear Reader. We’re about to get there.

Mom got her first dryer the year Twin Brother Mark and I turned seven. We always helped her hang clothes and sheets outside on clotheslines to dry or on lines in the garage when it rained. A dirty garage is not the best place to dry clothes…or for making Mom happy. I know this because she said it to Dad many times over the years.

I remember helping her hang clothes the last time she used the drying garage. When Dad came home that evening, she said, “Honey, we really need to get a dryer.” The very next week the dryer was delivered. Mom was so happy to see it, but we were even happier for three good reasons.

First, the ginormous, heavy-duty, reinforced cardboard dryer box was a dream come true for us kids. We spent countless hours inside that box using our imagination and crawling ability to make it roll around the vacant lot across the street like a giant steamroller over rocks, small trees, plowing through giant green briars, and even over ant hills. We believed the box was indestructible, powered by our kid energy, and would last forever. It wasn’t and didn’t. It seems a ginormous, heavy-duty, reinforced cardboard dryer box will not last long if left outside during two days of nonstop rain.

Second, all the clotheslines both in the garage and outside were taken down. Since they were no longer useful, Dad gave them to us. We spent all that first summer making sling shots, a tree swing, and something else – the first zip line over Cripple Creek. Sure, the line broke after ten or so kids zipped across, but no one cared. The uncertainty of when that line was going to break only added to the fun. And because we had so much line, we were able to replace it all summer.

Lastly, the clothespins. With lines no longer strung in the garage or outside, Mom really didn’t have any use for hundreds of clothespins, so she gave them all to us. The Sister made Christmas tree decorations, reindeers, and a starburst front door ornament.

We boys had more practical uses for those clothespins. We made balls to throw at each other that would “explode” on contact. We pinned playing cards to the spokes of our bikes for cool sound effects. Peddling down Flamingo, my brothers and me sounded like a swarm of angry bees coming your way. But the best of all was the clothespin challenge: seeing how many clothespins someone can place on your fingers before you called, “Uncle!” For me the answer was and still is eight.

Unfortunately, the era of clotheslines and clothespins is over, but the memories endure. And, despite the delivery of our new addition to the family, so will the memory of our old friend.

The new dryer, compared to our old, is smaller on the outside but somehow bigger on the inside. Best of all, the high-tech energy efficient dryer sings a happy little tune when the load is finished. The Wife and I prefer it, but we’ll keep that from our old friend in the garage – now awaiting its final destination next month to be recycled.

After all, I’ve seen those futuristic movies about AI coming alive and don’t really want to upset our old friend.