Our several-years-old Maytag washer began making noises during the spin cycle that sounded like a jet getting ready to take off, despite the fact that it didn’t have wings.

I hoped the problem was that it was out of balance. That’s an easy fix. I got out my carpenter’s level. It was balanced perfectly. That left one cause – worn bearings.

A quick visit to the Internet gave me the price for replacement parts and descriptions on how to do the job, or, more to the point, why not to tackle the job.

The folks on You Tube admitted the replacement was tricky at best, requiring a special tool, and the parts were very expensive, almost equaling the cost of a new machine.

So, my wife and I visited Keith’s in Mystic, located in the former Coogan and Gildersleeve store. We’d bought appliances from both dealers in the past and were pleased with both the prices and service.

When we got there I discovered that Electrolux now made washing machines. We’d had an Electrolux when I was a kid; it was a canister that one dragged around the floor. I didn’t know they had diversified.

What particularly caught my eye was that the washer we eventually purchased not only was a front loader, but it had a window.

A couple of days ago I saw our kitten sitting in front of the machine watching the clothes go around and around. That brought back one of my earliest childhood memories of when I was about 3, living on Thames Street.

My mother had a front-loading Bendix with a window. Just as the kitten likes to watch the Electrolux go around and around, as a toddler, so did I.

I remember my mother getting very upset when I opened the door of the Bendix while it was going around and around. I didn’t need a bath that day!

Robert F. Welt of Mystic is a retired longtime teacher in Groton Public Schools.