My bread would not stay down in the toaster. I pushed the lever down, and the lever popped right back up. Over and over. Maybe the old toaster was going the way of all old toasters. Or maybe…yes, that must be it…I remember now. The bread won’t stay down if the toaster is unplugged. And indeed, the toaster was unplugged. I plugged it in. Now plugged in, the old toaster worked beautifully, like so many good old toasters. Then the air fryer got an attitude. The manual timer clicked by with it’s tick tick tick tick, but no hot air blew. What good is the timer with no hot air? The fryer was a hand-me-down—maybe it was old and broken. Or maybe…perhaps. That’s right: the timer doesn’t need power, but the hot air, of course, does. And indeed, the fryer was unplugged. In fact, the whole row of kitchen counter appliances was unplugged: the toaster, the fryer, the blender, and the milk shake maker. All unplugged and powerless. “Mom,” I called from the kitchen. “Did you unplug all these appliances?” “Yes!” she growled. “I did. I want ‘em out.” She emphasized her insistence with a violence pulling-the-cord-out-of-the-wall motion. “It’s safer that way.” “But Mom…” I pointed out how dozens of plugs all over the house are firmly in their outlets: lamps, clocks, hearing aid chargers, phone chargers, computers, printers, televisions, night lights, etc. And then there’s the heavy-duty stuff: stove, ovens, clothes washer, clothes dryer. “They’re all plugged in…all the time.” She looked at me rather disgustedly, and that ended the conversation. At least I had solved the minor mysteries of why my bread wouldn’t toast and why my air fryer wouldn’t blow hot air.