Pretty sure I used ALL of my good luck on this one.
It was a cold day in early January when I shouted to Karen, I can’t find my hearing aids.
Back came her response. Hold on, I can’t hear you. She moved closer in an attempt to solve that problem.
You know something, Karen, you need to go get your hearing checked.
Hey, she said, At least I don’t need hearing aids. What’s the problem?
I told you I can’t find my hearing aids.
Well, get looking! Hearing aid replacement is not in the budget. Where do you last remember having them?
And, so began a frantic and fruitless search. Nothing for several days until one hearing aid turned up on the carpet in the master bedroom closet. (Do not ask. I have no clue how it got there. Obviously, it was me, but I have no clue. Not only can I not hear, but I - apparently - also can’t remember.)
Hey, I found one! The key word here being ONE. I muddled along with one hearing aid for several weeks, including a six-week trip to Florida. Better to half-hear than not hear at all, right? Hearing aid replacement was still not in the budget….
And so it went until the first week in April, when I put on a shirt I had not worn for months.
It was a nice, clean sport shirt, fresh from the dry cleaners. As in cleaned, starched and professionally pressed. Out of the breast pocket tumbled my second missing hearing aid.
Karen, look what I found.
Sorry, could you repeat that?, she replied.
But finding it was only half of the battle. Surely it wouldn’t still work. Previously, it had been through a shower that included washing my hair. But, surviving dry cleaning was just too much to expect. Right? I was certain it was going to be clean, but dead as a doornail.
First step was to replace the battery. No problem. Then I inserted the right one in the right ear and the left one in the left ear. Good thinking, Davis. You have a flair for solving crises.
Bingo, two working hearing aids. The manufacturer provides a brush for use to clean them off. Not needed. The dry cleaner had done an impeccable job.
As for Karen, she went to Costco right after that and the same specialist who had originally set me up with my aids tested her. I was crushed. The results showed she didn’t need hearing aids. I’m happy to save some money, but I’m very upset that her hearing is better than mine.
The moral of this story is that there is no moral. Just be lucky every chance you get.
If you need a recommendation for a good dry cleaner that can spiff up just about anything, let me know. Or call Karen. Just speak loudly when you do. Her hearing isn’t great these days.
Right, Karen?
Say what?
DY: In Just a Few Words is a blog that comes out when something needs to be said or every Tuesday - whichever comes first. Davis Young is a communications professional who adds 50+ years of experience and perspective to issues of the day. His emphasis in DY: In Just a Few Words will be humor (a touch of sarcasm here, a pinch of facetiousness there...). Once in a while, he will touch on something a bit more serious - but hopefully not too deep or depressing.
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