Today, my wife and I were both reassured that I am not a total idiot.

[DFW]

She was away on some study-get acquainted trip to Israel for ten days. I had to fend for myself. You'd THINK I could at least get the dishwasher to work. Nope. I put in the soap or detergent or whatever it was, press the start button, heard the thing swish and choke and cough, but at the end of the cycle, the dishes etc. were just as dirty as they were before I pushed the button.

I tried twice, and then gave up. Rolling her eyes when she got back, she said how hard can this BE????? You can speak nine languages, but you can't press a button to start a dishwasher?

She said, look, just do THIS. Well, the dishes weren't any cleaner afterward. Still, no mercy. "What did you DO????"

Just pressed the button like she said!! So we called the repair service of the place where we had bought it. The guy just came out, and said, "this thing is over ten years old, it just died a natural death. You didn't do anything wrong. It just died of old age." Pure coincidence that its last successful cycle was the one my wife tried the night before she left for the Middle East.

She said, "OK, I guess you're off the hook."

Idiot-wise, anyway. Now I'm ON the hook for the price of a new dishwasher. I am fairly sure I got the better end of the bargain, long-term, but then I haven't yet gotten a quote on the new dishwasher. I reserve the right to change my mind once I hear how much it will cost.

[samnsara]

1. im updating all my kitchen appliances to the brand I can run from my phone...

..so buy a FUN dishwasher!! I watch tv on my fridge..it also has internet so my fridge is like the face of a cell phone..touch and swipe. So buy something that will make that gawdawful chore of unloading the dishes...fun.

[True Blue American]

6. Suggestion.

When loading the dishwasher make sure you put knives in one section, forks and spoons together.

I can get my entertainment through my Smart TV, IPAD, Smart Phone, Mini Pad, ROKU, Ring doorbell! Please Dear God, do not send me an entertaining dishwasher!

I am entertained out the wazoo now!

[DFW]

10. I couldn't do that

The only thing I can run from my phone is a telephone conversation.

I don't have a smart phone, just one of those twelve year old stone age gadgets that does nothing more than receive SMS messages, and, wait for this--make phone calls.

Most people end up living in their phones. I refuse to be one of them.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[tblue37]

13. Most don't have phones at all. They have microtablet computers that include

phone calls as a secondary function.

[Doreen]

15. I fought so hard for years.

I was finally broken down after continual pressuring from friends to get first a simple cell then they made me move on to the phone that is smarter than me.

[True Blue American]

21. I hate my IPhone

Why use something that tiny when an IPAD works fine, is big enough to type on, yet carry around.

[CatMor]

2. Are you sure its not one of the dishwashers ..

Trump says you have to push the button and have it run 15 times before the puff of steam comes out.

[DFW]

5. I don't think Trump has much to say about German dishwashers.

He probably wouldn't like them any more than he likes Angela Merkel!

[True Blue American]

7. I do not think

Angela is very impressed with Trump either!

[DFW]

17. Well, you didn't hear this from me, but........

She isn't!

[True Blue American]

19. :)

Mums the word.

[CatMor]

9. He doesn't like it because they make quality goods.

[DFW]

18. He wouldn't mind if only they changed one tiny detail

Instead of saying "made in Germany," he wants them put on labels saying "made in Donald Trump's USA."

Then he wouldn't mind at all.

[CatMor]

27. It would simply be named the trump Washer ..

you only have to push the button once for that PERFECT puff of steam.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. There's always the old ol' fashioned dishwashers (by hand)...they don't literally cost near as...

much and always work (for the most part)! Thanks for the cute story!

[DFW]

4. I'm on the road a LOT for my work.

I don't feel I have the right to ask her to wash all our dishes by hand on her own just because I'm not around to help.

[True Blue American]

8. With you gone she has few dishes to wash!:)

[DFW]

20. Hardly

She has a steady group of friends here that always stop by because she's the best chef in town.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. Nice of you. That's why I use paper plates, or a minimum of dishes, when my other half is ...

gone (on road trip / work), I don't want to create more work than needed or make a mess to clean up later. Your wife is a lucky person and I'm sure that she feels the same about you. This is the vibe that all of those who seek good sustaining relationships are seeking (the 'holy grail' so to speak).

Be safe and take care!

[DFW]

22. MY wife has put up with me for almost 46 years now.

I have the good fortune to have a partner who still looks like a model at age 68, but is nearsighted, and is a social worker by profession. I'm her longest hardship case.

Move over Jane Fonda!
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[SWBTATTReg]

25. Like I said, finding the pot of gold between two partners is one of the most elusive things on ...

earth and when you find it, you are wealthy beyond compare...

Beautiful!

[DFW]

29. Or, as we call it in the South

Dumb luck! We met when we were both 22. She thought, hmm, an American, there's a novelty. Here's a guy from a place I'll never see. I thought, "wow, I'll never have a chance with a woman like THAT!" But I instantly realized that with THAT kind of attitude, I never WOULD have a chance with a woman like that. She was from the flat farm country of northwestern Germany. Not having the slightest idea what to say to someone like her, I just started up a normal conversation. It turned out that she was looking for exactly that, seeing as how every guy in Berlin was trying to pick her up with some kind of clever line. I was too dumbstruck to think of any.

She thought she would never see me again after that summer. I thought I was an idiot if I didn't try anything and everything to keep up the relationship. Luckily, I had already learned enough German to be conversational, since her English sucked at the time (she never had occasion to practice it). Somehow, we clicked, and here we are, 46 years later and grandparents. Not one day goes by when I forget that I probably stood a better chance of winning the million dollar slot machine at some Vegas casino. Like I said. Dumb luck.

[SWBTATTReg]

31. Neat and of course, congrats! I'm always saddened by those who go on in life and never find ...

that special person. Thanks so much for sharing your special story, and to, of course, many more years of happiness!

[DFW]

33. I know there are many who never find their "other half."

I feel for them. Some are fine with it. But there are always those who yearn for a partnership and never find the one they are completely comfortable with.

Our story has all sorts of quirks to it. Some were ordeals. She has had cancer twice, I have had heart issues. But there is also the story of our two amazing daughters. Or the unlikely wedding (we were invited to our wedding by my brother, and it ended up looking like the UN General Assembly).

[tblue37]

14. That's the kind I have--me. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. You broke it. You pushed the button incorrectly.

[Phentex]

16. I agree with this...

there is NO WAY this was a coincidence. My husband often makes the same claim but the jig is up!

[DFW]

23. I should have used my thumb instead?

It worked for Sean Connery's character once.......

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. I don't know. What's clear is that you broke it

because there is no other explanation.

[DFW]

26. There is one

The repair guy guy took it apart and said it just gave out. No fault of anyone other than metal fatigue.

Not being a relative of C3PO or R2D2, I can safely say that any fatigue on my part is not due to metal.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

36. Ha. The repair guy is a guy. He's just trying to give you an excuse.

The dishwasher wouldn't have died if your wife had pushed the button because she'd have done it correctly.

[matt819]

28. Well. . .

Maybe yes, maybe no.

You didn't call the repair guy. You didn't realize it was broken.

Just sayin'. After all, one is never really off the hook with one's spouse. Ever.

BTW, my dishwasher died a few years ago and I got a mid-range Maytag. Ten-year warranty and very happy with it, to the extent that one can be happy about a dishwasher.

[DFW]

30. No such thing as a Maytag here

We went to the local electronics place, and decided on a Siemens. Well-equipped, energy-saver, water-saver (so they say), and I'm several hundred euros poorer. But if it lasts ten years, that's 5 euros a month. Not a bad deal.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. Can you get Miele or Bosch dishwashers there more cheaply than here?

Or not because of the VAT? I have a Bosch, like it a lot.

[DFW]

38. Both are popular brands here

But don't forget that the sales tax (MWSt) is 19% here, so much of the price advantage gained by them being made locally is wiped out by the tax, which is not applied to exports outside the EU.

[Ohiogal]

32. My dishwasher is 14 years old

We’ve patched it up time and time again. I really would rather have a new one. Will you come over to my house and work your magic on my dishwasher, DFW?

[DFW]

34. I don't know if you want my kind of magic

Mine seems to make dishwashers die quiet deaths! The magic would probably be better directed to the store near you that sells and installs new ones, although considering the discount we got (18 euros), it's about as magical as a cheap card trick! I'm definitely NOT Eisenheim!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

35. "I reserve the right to change my mind once I hear how much it will cost."

Ha!

Right!

Don't try it. Just get the new machine. Keep the peace.

[DFW]

39. Wise words.

I did.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

40. What a great story, my dear DFW!

I was chuckling all the way through the thread.

Glad you now are the proud owner of a nice, new, sturdy dishwasher.

And I'm really glad to hear that your lovely wife got to Israel for 10 days. That must have been great for her. Please tell her hello from Lionel and me!

[DFW]

41. Thanks, and I will be glad to to do just that!

You and Lionel are two out of three DUers who have actually spent any time with her, so you can imagine how she soaked up the many experiences.

The old dishwasher USED to be sturdy--once. Of course, dinosaurs roamed the earth once, too.