Clubs and organizations are ways for people, who share a common goal or interest, to get together. Their topics, or main themes, can range from new ideas, or think tanks, a skill such as painting or woodworking, collections of antiques or whatnots, sports, or even playing cards. For those who like to collect things, the list is virtually endless.
The Mayor of Marshfield, the name by which just about everyone in the complex knows this person, stood peering into the vastness of the storage closet. I was only there to help and had assured him I would keep my wise counsel to myself, although we both knew that was going to be a long shot. Vastness was not the right word to describe the closet, unless it was the vastness of absolutely no vacant space left. It was packed solid, from top to bottom.
The Mayor, planning for retirement, had decided that perhaps it was a good idea to downsize. The sigh, that left their lips, was one I remembered well. Where does one start, when faced with a lifetime of stuff? Stuff that has accumulated and not been touched in years. The process can be painful, especially when digging up old memories that have lain dormant for a long, long time.
The suggestion had been made that just maybe, some of this stuff could be sold. The Mayor had given that some thought and figured it was always good to add to the retirement savings. Box after box came out of the closet. Betty Boop, who had not seen the light of day for years, ended up in the display cabinet. She was not alone as more boxes revealed things that could not be parted with. After all, there was some empty space in the cabinet that needed to be filled. There were enough Christmas decorations to light up the entire apartment complex. Since that season is nearly upon us, those did not go anywhere either. Then, the find of all finds, emerged from the sea of boxes.....the Kirby Vacuum.
Having made the suggestion that if things did not sell, rather than put them back into the closet, they could be donated or simply thrown away. The thought of the beloved Kirby in the dumpster nearly put the Mayor into cardiac arrest. What was I thinking?!? This Kirby was in the original box, with every attachment, that was ever created for this work of vacuum cleaner wizardry and they were in their original boxes too.....for the last 30 years. Who knew cardboard could be an antique?
Trying to settle the Mayor's nerves, I quickly began to Google old style Kirby vacuum cleaners. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed what I found.....a Kirby vacuum cleaner club.....I kid you not.
It wasn't just for Kirby vacuums, but any old sweeper that was considered a modern marvel of its age, and the more I read, the better it got. The club was founded in 1983, with ten members. It has since grown to nearly 100. They have 4 day annual conventions, a Facebook page and a website that boasts the recent Vacuum News. Then, I stumbled upon the pictures from the latest convention. Sure enough, there were the members vacuuming the hotel carpets...individual pictures, of each member, doing the same thing.
It was about this time that my husband showed up on the scene and found the Mayor and myself in nearly a fit of hysterics. After we calmed down long enough to explain the reason for our laughter, he said the clubs' call to action was probably "You Suck!" This, of course, was followed by more howls and ideas of what other sayings might fit, such as, "Well, That Sucks!"
The Kirby will probably not be going anywhere soon, unless the Mayor decides to join the club. Oh well, this just proves that there is something or someone for everyone and truth can indeed be stranger than fiction.
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