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You don't learn to truly appreciate mom until you go to college and do your own washing. During high school I put my dirty clothes in the hamper. Two days later they magically appeared in my dresser smelling fresh.
When I went to college mom gave me a hamper. The college provided a dresser. Trouble is, this hamper wasn't magic like the one back home. The dirty clothes just sat there.
Two weeks later, my roommate tactfully suggested I either get rid of the dirty clothes or buy gas masks. "That hamper is a WMD. The smell could warp your soul."
"I'll set the hamper out in the hallway," I said.
"Why don't you just wash the clothes?"
"You're right "I agreed. "Besides, they might steal my clothes from the hallway."
"Only if the thief had terminal nasal blockage."
I can take a hint. I held my breath, scooped up the hamper and raced to the laundry room.
From that day, I not only had clean underwear, but also bright pink. (So you don't wash red sweatshirts with whites, how was I to know?) It was tough being taken seriously in the locker room after that.
I learned a lot in college. One vivid lesson came when I dropped my dirty tennis shoes into pure Clorox to whiten them. A few hours later, I had the cleanest rubber soles in the state of Iowa. The rest of the shoes are still missing.
My most memorable laundry experience came during my junior year. By now I was a professional and I used the Laundromat.
One wash day, I raced into the Laundromat, threw my clothes into an idle machine and left to cruise with my buddies. I would return in 30 minutes and transfer my clean clothes to the dryer.
But time got away from me and I was gone for an hour. I was surprised when I got back to the Laundromat to discover a pretty young coed sorting through my underwear.
She explained that my machine was idle and she had dumped her clothing in unaware that mine were lurking in the bottom.
We spent the next few minutes separating tangled bras, underwear, socks and items too embarrassing to mention.
"This weird thing must be yours," she said.
We wear them when we play football," I explained.
Thank God for one thing however, she hadn't washed her red shirt with my whites.
But every time I met that girl on campus, her cheeks reminded me of my freshman underwear.
Marty RicKard Bio
Marty RicKard attended William Penn College , Iowa State University and University of Southern Mississippi , from which he holds a BS degree in journalism and photojournalism. He also has a Masters Degree in photography. Marty was a technical writer for White Motor Company, and has worked for the Charles City Press, Mason City Globe-Gazette, and Davenport Times-Democrat. He owned New Sharon Star, where he was twice named Iowa Master Columnist. For ten years, Marty's regular column appeared in the Professional Photographer magazine. He has been published in many other magazines, including Golf Digest, Resource Magazine, Picture, Range Finder, and Darkroom. In addition to his writing credits, Marty has won numerous photography awards, has lectured in 48 states, and has traveled internationally as lecturer, and judge. He was one of thirty from the U.S. to participate in the first cultural exchange with China in 1986. He is a regular columnist for Lens Magazine, and a full-time writer of fiction and poetry. He has published three books, and is currently the editor of his local newspaper. He is an entertaining and inspirational speaker.
» left by Alice Kirk from Indiana (1 year 97 days ago.)
How well I recall these college tribulations Respond to this comment
» left by Marty RicKard(2,560) Marty RicKard (1 year 60 days ago.)
Dear Alice: Thanks for your comments. The bleach thing was a huge surprise (lesson) for me. Best, Marty RicKard Respond to this comment
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