Company was coming. I brought my upright vacuum cleaner from the closet to give the living room the once-over. My cats scattered ‒ as they all hate the noisy machine. It always amazes me when I see videos of cats riding on a Roomba. My cats wouldn’t like one of those automatic vacuums in the house, even if other strange cats seem to like to hop on for a ride. They would think it was an outsider trying to take over their territory.
I won’t be purchasing a Roomba anytime soon. My home isn’t set up for a robot vacuum cleaner, even if my cats would accept it.
Anyway, I started thinking about carpet cleaners, leading me to think about my mother and the stories that were told about her.
When my parents married after World War II, in the late 1940s, they lived in the lower level of my grandparents’ home in Chicago. Eventually, when Dad got a job, they moved into a flat (small apartment) not too far away.
Things were given to them to help with the transition. A carpet sweeper was one of the hand-me-downs, but it only took care of the heavier dirt, not the dust. So when their firstborn (me) was expected, Mom wanted to upgrade to a vacuum cleaner. Her choice was an Electrolux canister model. She was sure that this improvement would do a better job of making the floor cleaner for a crawling baby.
There were no cats in my parents’ home. They did have a dog named Bunny, but she became overprotective of me, snapping at visitors when they came near my crib ‒ so sadly, Bunny had to be given away.
There was still one pet living in the flat. Mom had a canary. The twittering of that bird cheered her. It was so tame that the little yellow bird was often left free of its cage. It would flit from high on a lamp and land on Mom’s shoulder.
The canary didn’t seem to mind the vacuum’s noise. One day, when Mom was cleaning, she forgot to put the bird back in its cage.
While she was trying to tidy up the living room for company, the bird followed her, but this time it was walking behind her on the rug.
Without thinking of her companion, Mom turned—and thump—something big was sucked up by the machine. “What is it this time?” she thought.
When she realized what had happened, Mom panicked. She ripped open the latches that held the Electrolux shut. Mom expected the worst when she finally got the door open.
The canary came out along with the dirt sucked up by the vacuum cleaner. Its yellow was colored a dusty gray. Mom picked it up and gently rubbed its belly. To her surprise, it moved. It was still alive! I can just imagine it sputtering and coughing as it was revived.
That bird escaped unharmed and continued to live in the flat. But after that accident, it stayed far from the vacuum cleaner.
That Electrolux vacuum lasted a long time. I remember riding it like a horse when I was little, while Mom pulled it around, vacuuming our home. The noise didn’t bother me like it would have with my cats today. For me, it was fun.
Susan Manzke, Sunnybook Farm, N8646 Miller Rd, Seymour, WI 54165; sunnybook@aol.com; susanmanzke@gmail.com; www.susanmanzke.net/blog.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin State Farmer: Mother’s Electrolux vacuum cleaner was a housekeeper’s dream until it sucked up the family pet
Reporting by Susan Manzke / Wisconsin State Farmer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
