Reconfiguration

 My TV watching has been less than stellar, as my old friend from Cambridge was wont to say. Encased in the once-trendy entertainment center, it no longer allowed full-screen viewing from the left side. Worse, a section of the closed captioning was no longer visible either. The TV itself now appears small compared to everyone else's. I'll get a new TV, I thought. But where will I put it, or more to the point, what will I put it on? Only one wall will work for placement, the one to the right of the front door entrance. 

  Relatives, you know, the likely ones, suggested ditching the vintage entertainment center. I know, I've seen them for cheap or free on facebook pages, and indeed even kicked to the curb. While my house is full of stuff, really not much of it is furniture, and where would I put all the valuable items packed  in its shelves. Some of the antique glassware and dishes were highly collectible up until recently, but the Maria Condo effect and lifestyle changes have put an end to that.

 So one day, yardstick in hand, I measured the furniture and the walls and computed I could shift the entertainment center to the opposite wall, thereby retaining a place for the internally-stored collectibles and also maintaining a show place for family pictures, and the candy jar.

  I didn't want to prevail on any family members for moving help. I have a vivid memory of the entertainment center being delivered to our house over 20 years ago. David and I had made the purchase at Eagle Bridge Furniture, and the 2 delivery men complained about the weight; they said it was the heaviest  piece of furniture in the store, this was the last one, and the store was not going to order any more. 

    So I went online to find handymen/movers. The estimated cost was $267. I thought this was a little high, so I searched locally. The first person who advertised he could do anything around the house told me to find somebody else. I then found another on facebook, and messaged his site, saying the item was very heavy and said it would require a moving device my family members did not have access to. I communicated with his wife who contacted him, and she said Roger would do the job.  I said I would have to move all the stuff out of it and off it, and would then be ready. But Roger called me shortly after, saying he was on his way. I sprung into action, my usual frantic speed, and accomplished most of the removals  before he got here. I was hoping for 2 burly young men, but it was Roger, a rather slightly built man, probably about 60 years old. He had no roller or equipment of any kind, just his bare hands, and he had come from work. He struggled to move it, but we took the 2 bottom drawers out. and he kind of walked it across the floor. It was a tight fit to get it into the space, but just as he was trying to do so, help arrived, in the form of Ben T. I told Roger he could leave, that Ben would help with the final touches. Roger agreed. I asked him how much I owed him, He said $20.