wash, dry, fold

the wascomat signs might have been here since the fifties, both of them, one boasting the niftiness and perfection of the machines, the other a study in montgomery ward signage, directions on how to operate these newfangled celebrations of technology. and the machines, too. most of the wascomat jr machines have been washing so long the white operating instructions have been rubbed off the brown plastic front panels. there are three white ceiling fans keeping a place with 18 washers and 12 dryers surprisingly comfortable on the first day of july.

there are signs everywhere about what not to put in the machines. rugs, rubber, plastic, shoes. there is an admonition to check for nails, pins and lipstick in pockets right under the absolutely no smoking, pets or skates sign. the machines make sounds like robots or small animals.

it is an easy place to look around but it is the dryers that capture my attention. all right in a row with a dial and a coin slot. a sign above them says 6-7 min for 25 cents. the 6-7 is handwritten on paper and taped over what was probably once 10. several dial labels are worn off and have been reapplied with black sharpie and an unsure hand.

while i am waiting for the spin cycle on my wascomat washer to stop i gaze over across the tops of the dryers. how aware are you of the way a dryer functions? because i felt pretty confident i understood their heat came from electricity, through a power cord. evidently this is not always the case but i had never once considered actual combustion a part of what happened. i stare at the flickering between the top of the dryer and the small locked panel above. bright and lively orange fire flickers behind the panel. a fast-moving column of it. my slow brain gets ready to warn the world that this laundromat is catching fire but my quicker eyes scan the gaps across the tops of the other machines. tiny blazing furnaces, all around. this is how they work, the machines. i am drying my clothes with real live fire.

brigid. pele. prometheus. vesta. vulcan. laundromat. tenders of fire, all.