Tale of the “Fixed” Washing Machine

It’s some topsy turvy language when bad means good and good means bad. So should it really be that surprising that some think broken means fixed and “disabled” means incapable?.
On a recent trip to the community laundry room of my apartment building, I found, to my great surprise, all four washing machines were empty. I quickly snatched the large washing machine, stuffing bed linens through its small door. I loaded towels into one of the three smaller ones and clothes in another. With doors closed and locked, I added laundry detergent and fabric softener in their labeled sections.
Each of the three machines deducted its fee from my laundry smartcard, triggering a jingly tune to indicate a 30 minute cycle was imminent.
The large machine went to work. Water poured into the section of laundry detergent, carrying it further into the machine, soaking the loaded bedding. It spun back and forth and upside down, tossing its contents wildly about and making the kind of suds that instill confidence in the cleaning process.
The two smaller machines also went to work, tossing their contents and making all of the usual washing machine noises except the gushing sounds of water. In fact, there was no water at all, leaving my things in their dry, need-to-be-washed condition.
Al, the super, showed up a short while later to address the problem. He banged on the machines, tinkered with the flaps and coverings on the backs, stood up, washed his hands in the nearby sink and proclaimed “You’re all good.”
“How is that?” I asked.
“You’re all good,” he repeated. “I fixed it.”
Mindful that water still was not flowing into the small machine, I asked again, “How am I all good?” I pointed at the two small machines that continued to toss and spin dry contents. “How is that fixed?”
“Those small machines don’t use much water. You’re all good.” He turned to leave.
“But they do use water. There is no water. Nothing is being washed here. These machines are not fixed. This is not all good,” I fussed loudly, causing him to turn around. After more discussion, Al conceded that the laundry repair man would need to be called.
So what’s left to ponder here? That it can be difficult to consider people who use wheelchairs….or manage hemophilia….or have no hearing….to be exceptional employees….or fashionistas….or good parents, while a washing machine not capable of washing anything can be considered “all good.”
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