Prewash

Prewash. (iPhone photo by BobbaLew.)

“Wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.”
That’s the advice I always gave to friends about to marry.
“Seems I never hafta clean out my dishwasher,” I observed. “My dishes are always free of garbage when I put ‘em in.”
I am on dishwasher number-three, a Bosch, purchased new at Lowe’s.
Dishwasher number-one, a Maytag, lasted over 20 years. It’s the one we installed when our house was built, 27 years ago.
I forget why we gave up on it, but we replaced it with an el-cheapo Kenmore.
Within two years the rubberized plastic on the grillwork began disintegrating. End-caps came off, allowing the grillwork to rust. Flakes of rust were being left on our dishes.
My wife also developed the cancer that would eventually take her life. I’m no longer crying as much as I did at first, but I’m still devastated. I barely exist.
She was the best friend I ever had, and after my childhood I sure needed one.
She actually liked me. Most adult authority figures, including my parents, convinced me I was abominable.
I took her aside one day. “If yer gonna die,” I said; “I need a dishwasher I can insert my filthy dishes in, and viola, the next morning they are spotless.”
So we went to Mighty Lowe’s in Canandaigua, and scoped their dishwashers.
Stainless-steel interior, as opposed to plastic, and nylon covering on stainless-steel grillwork.
That was our Bosch bought from and installed by Lowe’s.
Only two years from our Kenmore — it was junked. Ya get what ya pay for.
It just so happens I have a dog I spoil rotten. I let her lick off my plates, and lick out my pans.
“Mashed potatoes? Yippee! I can prewash that pan! Gimme-gimme!”
She also likes broccoli and tomatoes. Who ever heard of a broccoli dog?
But “You can forget that there spinach. Am I Popeye?”
Anything the dog prewashes goes in the dishwasher.
The one thing the Bosch didn’t have, compared to all the other dishwashers at Lowe’s, was a garbage disposal.
But I don’t need one. I have a four-legged, big-tongued prewash.

• “Canandaigua” (“cannan-DAY-gwuh”) is a small city nearby where I live in Western NY. The city is also within a rural town called “Canandaigua.” The name is Indian, and means “Chosen Spot.” —It’s about 14 miles away.
• My current dog is “Scarlett” (two “Ts,” as in Scarlett O’Hara), a rescue Irish-Setter. She’s twelve, and is my sixth Irish-Setter, a high-energy dog. We cut off her feathers, because she collected burrs. (A “rescue Irish Setter” is an Irish Setter rescued from a bad home; e.g. abusive or a puppy-mill. [Scarlett was from a failed backyard breeder.] By getting a rescue-dog, I (we) avoid puppydom, but the dog is often messed up. —Scarlett wasn't bad. She’s my fourth rescue.)