The Iron

There's a story everywhere.  Recently my mom had some boxes sitting in the dining area because earlier in the week they had a water heater leak and water came into the closet where the boxes were stored.  My mom must have filled the box from a drawer when she moved into her new house 15 years ago and she had not touched it since.  It was filled with pictures, old glasses, jewelry and a piece of folded paper that someone had blotted their lipstick on.  When I opened that paper it was a list of items that Mom and Dad had packed and brought back to the United States when they left Germany on March 22, 1955.  Included on that list was an ironing board and an iron.  As I read the list out loud, my mom, said, "I still use that iron and ironing board."
  Now, I knew that she had the same iron and board for as long as I could remember, but I had no idea how long or how far it had traveled!  She explained that over the years the iron has stopped working a time or two and my dad would cut off part of the cord and repair it.  She got it out and we looked  for the brand.  It is a General Electric.  The dial on the front is broken and the words that told the settings are gone, but by now Mom remembers where they are and does not need them.  They bought the iron in the PX when they got married in 1954 and today it is still working.  They just don't make appliances like they used to!