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Beff instructed me to play the Christmas tape (now the Christmas CD), originally a cassette recorded in 1976 by putting microphones in front of stereo speakers, etc., while we decorated the tree. When I turned on the receiver, it sputtered and sputtered, and finally came on in about half a minute. The next time it took longer still. I calculated that I've had it for 28 years, and it's served me well all of that time. Sort of.

After all, it blasted All Night Long and Billie Jean for dance parties when they were both on the charts. From vinyl. Or cassettes. If it weren't an inanimate object, it would have stories.

No it wouldn't.

Thus we replaced it, too. For about half of what the old receiver cost in 1984, and with more watts per channel (125 is more than 80), and for less than a third of what the Roland R-26, below, cost, we got a new one. This one, not being from 1984, has a plug for an mp3 player ("PORTABLE"). Not bad, not bad.

And it works.