Everything Old is New Again

We decided a couple of weeks ago to upgrade our bed. We’re the type of people who generally don’t buy new things unless the old thing is obviously broken. They claim you should change your mattress every 7-8 years or so and we were about double that so it was past time.

Smart technology seems to be creeping into everything these days and this bed is loaded with sensors and frills and things that are supposed to help you learn about how to get better sleep. Haven’t really fully explored those things yet but this bed does also come with a massage feature. You can choose upper and/or lower body and three different settings.

And that just triggered a memory that likely only applies to people of a certain age – like me. And that would be Magic Finger beds in motels of a certain price point back in the day. Don’t believe me – here’s the evidence.

Now through the fog of memory, I can’t remember particular locations. As a family, we didn’t actually stay at motels that often. We didn’t take a lot of big vacations either. Part of that was my Dad’s schedule – as a professor, he often ended up teaching over the summer leaving little time for a big vacation. Plus I think there were some financial things involved – my parents made saving for our college a higher priority. So we just lived with mostly day trips to bigger cities to see zoos or go to a ballgame. My grandmother had a cottage up north and we usually went there once during a summer.

Besides, we were trailer people!

So the big trips we took involved hauling a trailer across parts of the country. I think it is why we really never made it west of the Mississippi. But there were two constants to trailer travel. First was Dad always telling my brother that he couldn’t ride in the trailer. Second was the inevitable yelling and screaming as Mom tried to guide Dad as he backed the trailer into our assigned spot.

Still I remember a few trips when we ended up at motels. Clearly, we weren’t staying at five star resorts but I’m pretty sure we tended to stay at chains. Ramada Inn strikes a memory. They didn’t all have the magic fingers but it was certainly exciting to see one attached to the bed. Of course, since we rarely had money on us, it meant asking Mom or Dad for quarters. More often than not, they’d turn us down. Parents can be such spoil sports. I mean who could resist lying on a shaking bed for 15 minutes for just the low, low price of 25 cents. Such a bargain.

Of course, the first time they gave in, the reality was nowhere near the anticipation. I think I got bored just lying there for 15 minutes. Didn’t stop us from asking each time we saw that little box attached to the bed.

Now, I can do it for free in the comfort of my own home. I’m pretty sure Magic Fingers didn’t have the best reputation in the world (I hate to think about what others might have done on that vibrating bed) but the concept seemed to stick around. I mean why else would a high bed add a massage feature. The Magic Fingers was just a little ahead of its time.