Why would anyone write anything about a vacuum cleaner - a piece of necessary household equipment? They’re ugly, make loud irritating noises and have a foot-tripping cord, dangerous for old people. So again, why? Perhaps I simply have a strange fascination with them. Or is it because we haven’t always had one? [...]

In March 1950, when Arthur was eight years old, my parents plus five-year-old Ruth, traveled to Axtell, Nebraska. I remember it well, because they were gone over March 13th, my fourteenth birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Mattson, elderly friends of my folks, stayed with the rest of us kids while they were [...]