Thanks to the amazing generosity of a family member, we have a new bed frame for the first time in 20 years. And not just any old bed frame: this one has an astonishing list price and comes with multiple power and USB outlets as well as its own, dedicated smartphone app. It is also a behemoth, weighing in at well over 200 lbs. It massages, it maneuvers the head and foot of the bed into various positions, and it even makes a fresh pot of coffee on command and cures cancer. Well, not the last part, but it might as well.
What is equally remarkable is that we were able to get the thing into our house and installed in our bedroom with a minimum of people thanks to my idea to purchase a $20 thing at Menard’s called Ready Lifter. Basically, it’s a large canvas strap that can be attached to two harnesses that allows two people to lift and move heavy objects pretty easily. We’ll be using this a lot more in coming days as we continue to clean out and clean up our house to fix it up.
You know we live in strange times when a bed frame is sophisticated enough to have its own smartphone app. And the strangeness extends to the not-quite-yet-finished presidential election in the U.S. The “hanging chad” controversies of the 2000 presidential election are but a vague and far-fetched dream compared to what is currently happening. On a more positive note, I am thankful that so far, it seems like there is not as much election-related violence as feared. But there is still plenty of time for that, and I have no illusions about longer term discontent. After all, we have a popular vote count that is the highest total in history, and although there is a clear winner, the margin of victory is still uncomfortably close.
The weekend will be occupied with lots of grading, as well as further thought and work on job application essays. <sigh>
