Friday, April 01, 2011

Ironing

In a real-life example of the domino effect, I read of the predicted demise of the Easy-Bake Oven thanks to the looming disappearance of the 100-watt incandescent light bulb. This news flash hurled me back to the iron age of my own learner-appliance youth. Thrust down that memory hole, I saw my 7-year-old self, curls flying, tearing through the house in search of a not-in-use-outlet where I could plug my iron, set up my ironing board and press those beginner-ironer projects: handkerchiefs and napkins. Yes, friends, it was the bad-old-days when the toy iron was metal, not plastic, and the manufacturers trusted that I had adult supervision and a modicum of sense, so designed it so that it really did plug in, heat, and allow my ironing career to begin.

Contrary to what I am told is the norm, I’ve always rather enjoyed ironing. You stand there, (although my mother could iron while seated on a stool: in retrospect, a most impressive feat), your mind mostly is free to wander, the steam clears your head, and you get a tangible sense of satisfaction – rather quickly. Such a sense of accomplishment with not all that much effort!

In a “your mind is mostly free” illustration, Tillie Olsen wrote a wonderfully crafted short story, “I Stand Here Ironing,” in which the narrator internally reviews the entire life of her daughter as she, the narrator, irons a dress. Tillie doesn’t mention the clearing of the ironer’s sinuses, but I imagine that to be the unspoken bonus round.

During this spring season of all-things-basketball, random information that I came upon was an article in the New York Times about National Basketball Association players and the art of nap-taking. One tidbit offered was that Antawn Jamison of the Cleveland Cavaliers “carefully irons and lays out his clothes” before taking his pregame nap.

Also in my youth, my Aunt Sue came to own what I viewed as an incredible thing with a curious name: a Mangle. Contrary to my expectation, it did not mutilate things; rather it smoothed them through an involved combination of machine and steam.  It was a large, electric-powered ironer. Who knew? Thinking about it though, and wondering if such a thing still existed or if maybe I had misremembered the name (I hadn’t.), I Googled it and saw pictures and demonstrations of the use of it. Apparently, it’s still available; however, even though the very interesting and informative website that outlines the history of ironing discusses the Mangle, it doesn’t provide definitive information about the curious name.

Another story from the iron age has to do with dress codes. Remember those? As an undergraduate, my husband, Larry, was required to wear a jacket, tie and dress shirt to class. Being not totally invested in ironing and somewhat pressed for time by his studies, he perfected the art of ironing only the collar, front and cuffs. Who could tell once the jacket was on? And, he reasoned, probably correctly, that after a small amount of time elapsed, back in those pre-permanent-press days, the un-ironed areas just had that natural rumpled look.

The avoidance of that rumpled look is the goal; the method of achievement of the goal can vary greatly. Fifteen dollars or one hundred and twenty dollars? Dry? Steam? Automatic shut- off? Heavy or light-weight? Teflon-coated? In my experience, nothing clarifies your requirements for a tool like using one with features that you hate. The available range of hand irons may seem dizzying but, like so much of life, it’s a learn-as-you-go event.

History says that the Chinese were using heated metal to smooth fabric over 1000 years ago, so ironing is an idea with a much longer tradition than the Easy-Bake oven. The question is if it too will become obsolete, and if so, due to personal preference or the advance of technology.

Leaving you with this pressing question, this is Jeanette Saddler Taylor.

Broadcast by Jeanette Saddler Taylor on April 01, 2011 • WVPE's Audio Archive
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