As my XBox 360 undergoes surgery somewhere in Texas, I've been left to wonder why my fridge, stove and microwave are still chugging along well into their third decade of service while my high-tech hunk of Microsoft finery broke down less than two years into it's mission.

         In a prior blog, I mentioned my mom's refrigerator which lasted some 30 years before finally giving up the ghost.      My aforementioned Amana microwave is still going strong after more than 25 years of thawing, cooking, reheating and warming.     Appliances with THAT kind of loyalty become part of the family--they were there when the kids were born, when you were sick, when company dropped by, for holiday bashes.  

       Bonnie from Sheboygan lucked into just such a buy: "We are still using our original refrigerator from 1980 when we were married. (We bought it at Bitter-Neumann in good old Sheboygan!) I can't even tell you the name brand because the name plaque fell off the front door years ago!  The long plastic cover at the bottom of the refrigerator near the floor has been missing since it cracked when I dropped a jar of baby food on it. That was when our firstborn was an infant. He's now almost 24!  I have been hoping it would finally die so I can get one with a few more bells and whistles!  But now I might as well wait until we redo the whole kitchen...after the "baby" finishes college in 3 more years! Think it will last that long??"

      Maybe it's because old appliances were simpler...few bells, no whistles, none of the extra little doo-hickeys that can bust, break, rip, tear or snap.       Maybe they were just made better.       We sound like our parents when we say that, but then, maybe they were right.

      I'll keep you posted on the XBox 360, and I'd love to hear your stories about you brushes with the "Ring of Death", too, as well as any praises you want to sing for an especially durable appliance.       Send your stuff to mueller@620wtmj.com.