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Is that a bird?
You wouldn't believe how many times we heard that question, from first-time visitors to the house and especially over the phone. It often went something like this:

Q. Is that a bird?
A. No, it's George.
Q. Is George a bird?
A. No, George is a REFRIGERATOR.

A Sears Coldspot Frostless side-by-side refrigerator-freezer to be exact, manufactured around 1964. The manufacturer had some quality issues with the blower motors - after a few years of service they started making noise. We had one in the house I lived in as a teenager. By the time I finished college, every time the compressor cycled the blower motor produced a repeating sequence of chirps, bleats, hums and whistles. It wasn't exactly the same every cycle, but there were identifiable themes that emerged, repeated, evolved slowly over weeks and seasons. It reminded me of a whale song.

When we moved here in 1991, we inherited a fridge with the same blower motor. It didn't have the repertoire of Mom & Dad's old unit, but it did have a personality of its own. So we named it... George.

If you lived with George, you really didn't notice the noise (except for a couple of minutes after someone on the phone asked "is that a bird?"). That changed the third week of March 2009, when George's amiable chirp that we'd lived with for 18 years gave way to a nervewracking incessant whine. The sort of incessant whine that forces you to use the phone's Mute button on conference calls, that makes you turn up the volume on the TV, that reminds you how much energy you're wasting keeping George in service so long past his prime, and how many dollars it's costing you every month.

I could have bought a replacement blower for $25 and installed it myself in a few hours, but as 10 year-old Gail observed, "it wouldn't be George any more if it didn't make noise." Besides, nothing was going to turn George into an Energy Star, even if I replaced the moldy brittle seals while I had it apart to replace the blower. So sorry George, thanks for everything and all but you're really just an appliance and giving you a name was really just a lark. It's time this house had a new refrigerator!

On March 26, after 45 years of reliable service for 3 different families, George left the building.


The freezer compartment, almost emptied out the night before. We never did find out whether freezing those glow sticks makes it so they can light up again.


George is ready to go, his magnet collection safely parked on the oven awaiting the new fridge


Last look - Bye George!