I've never been overly impressed with the performance of any of the G.E. canisters, including the Roll-Easys. They seem to have wimpy suction and poor air flow and, in short, are just "under-achievers." But I do have a soft spot for the pink G.E. and the early Roll-Easy as those were among the vacuum cleaners my grandmothers had.

And then of course there was the neighbor in Virginia who had gotten a new G.E. canister just like the one depicted in this thread. Here's that story again, for the "new folks." If you've already read it, feel free to pass it by...

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One time I nearly got into BIG trouble for "breaking into" the home of one of my chums to see his mom's new vacuum cleaner. I had been over there one day playing with my friend when I saw a large carton in the living room, "General Electric Canister Vacuum Cleaner." The box was still sealed -- it had just been delivered. I made some broad hints that it would be "neat" to see it but his mom wasn't in the mood. She said she was too busy and didn't have time to "fuss with the vacuum cleaner."

A couple of days later, I rode by their house on my bicycle and saw that no one was home. The very bad idea crossed my mind that I could sneak into the house just to get a peek at the new sweeper!

So I rode my bicycle around to the back of their house. I walked up the steps to their back porch. I peered in through the glass jalousie windows and couldn't see anything as it was dark inside.

I very timidly opened the porch door. A blast of hot air trapped inside the glassed-in porch hit me in the face. I went on into the enclosed porch, tip-toed across the terrazzo floor, and peered into the door leading into the kitchen. It was dark inside because all the blinds and shades were drawn. Clearly, no one was home.

I opened the kitchen door a crack and peered in. (This was in a simpler time, in a simpler place when and where, yes, people would go off for days at a time and leave their houses unlocked.)

Nothing.

I opened the kitchen door wider and stuck my head in, calling out in a cracked, tentative voice -- "H-hello?" -- just to make sure no one was there!

No response.

I went on into the house that was blanketed in dusk-like semi-darkness. I made my way through the kitchen and into the long hallway that was very dark. I peeked in the hall closet where I figured the vacuum cleaner would be. Not there!

I went back into the kitchen and looked into the pantry. No vacuum to be found!! Puzzled, I went back into the hallway and walked down to the end where the bedrooms were.

The parents' bedroom door was opened a few inches. I peeked in, and ... there it was! Sitting in the far corner in front of a window, bathed in a rippled glow of sunlight gleaming in through the window-blinds, was the G.E. box! I could see, to my great elation, that the box had been opened. The wands and woven hose (green with white tracing) were sticking up from the top.

I pushed the bedroom door open and ran over to the corner. I moved aside the hose and pulled the canister out from the box. I gasped in awe when I saw the gleaming chrome and dark green body! It was so beautiful!! My mind was suddenly and singly focused on that sweeper, and I wanted to see it in all its radiant glory.

I set the canister on the floor. I pulled out the hose, wands, and large rug attachment. I put it all together and started "pretend vacuuming" with it, making "vrrrrrrrm" sounds as I did.

SUDDENLY ...

The magical spell was broken when I heard the crunch of gravel outside, telling me that someone was pulling up into the driveway! I heard the squeal of brakes ... a car door opening and slamming shut ... loud clompy footsteps crossing the floor of the front porch. I could tell from the heavy footsteps that it was my friend's Dad.

Ohhhh ... NO!!! (I did not know any swear words yet, or I surely would have used them!)

I totally panicked, not knowing whether to run for the back door, or to hide. I frantically looked left and right, to and fro -- considered crawling under the bed. But the sound of footsteps in the house told me there was no time. So I just ducked behind the bedroom door and hid in the space between the door and the wall behind it.

I heard the man walking through the house drawing the blinds and curtains and opening windows. He came down the hallway ... when he got to the opened door of the bedroom, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the new vacuum cleaner all set up and sitting in the room just by the doorway.

"What th..." he muttered, and came into the room. When he did, I coughed or made some other little noise. He whirled around and jerked the door back.

Shocked, I stared up into his bugged eyes and SCREAMED at the top of my lungs!

Even more shocked, he also SCREAMED at the top of HIS lungs!!

At first, he jumped back like he had been shot! Then he leaned over, roughly grabbed me by my shirt and yelled, What the heck are you doing in here, boy?"

I started crying and stammering that I just wanted to see their new sweeper."

"WHAT??" he exclaimed!" What kind of story is that? Why on earth would YOU want to see a SWEEPER?"

Crying and blubbering even more, I said, "I dunno ... I just wanted to see it."

He stood there, scratching his head, trying to figure out if I was lying or just out of my mind!

He looked at the vacuum cleaner ... looked at me ... looked at the vacuum cleaner again ... and it dawned on him that I was telling the truth as he realized it was all set up and ready to go.

He said, "Well, this is about the dumbest thing I ever heard of. Now you know you're going to have to be punished for this." He thought for a minute and said, "I know ... as your punishment, you have to use the sweeper in the entire house -- from front to back. You are not to stop until you have cleaned every room."

Well ....... he may not have realized at that moment that this was about the most wonderful "punishment" he could have dished out. But when he saw me RUN to the vacuum, excitedly carry it out to the living room and begin my chore, taking great care to use every single attachment including the crevice tool, he did figure out the folly of his decision!

In a little while, after I had gotten as far as the kitchen, his wife came in carrying a bag of groceries. When she saw me using her sweeper she became VERY annoyed. She asked her husband, "What is he doing with my new vacuum?"

Her husband looked at me, gave me a sly "wink-wink" and said, "Well, he had come by looking for some odd jobs to earn a little money, and the only thing I could think of was to let him run the sweeper."

She gave both of us a strange look, like, "Whaaaat????" but then just said to me very sternly, "Well, you be VERY careful with it! It's brand-new and I don't want you to ruin it!" (I wonder if maybe she had ever seen Mama's battered old Electrolux and feared her machine would suffer the same fate!")

The best part ... as I was leaving to go home, the man tossed a silver dollar in the air to "pay" me for my work!!

Some 25 years later, I returned to my old home town to give a musical concert at Daddy's former church. Afterward, who should come to greet me in the reception line but my friend's dad! He told me his wife was visiting a shut-in relative, and that his son - my friend - had gotten married and was living elsewhere. Then he asked me, "Are you still breaking into people's houses to see their vacuum sweepers?!"

I turned beet-red and said, "I really did appreciate you 'covering for me' with your wife."

He replied, "Well, I knew if your folks found out about it, you'd get a mighty whippin' -- didn't want to see that happen. But I'll have you know that =I= got in a heap of trouble with my wife for letting you use her new vacuum before she had had a chance to use it even once!

Listing on ebay.....