When my grandmother was diagnosed with severe arthritis the late 80s - early 90s her doctor asked what kind of vacuum cleaner she had, and she told him (it was a Kirby Dual Sanatronic 50), and he proceeded to tell her that she needed to get an Oreck. Everyone knew of Oreck where she lived because the factory was in the town (Long Beach, MS) before moving to Tennessee after Hurricane Katrina. The machine has served her exceptionally well over the years, only bag and belt changes. Having the Oreck gave her the freedom to lead a much more regular life when it came to doing housework. There are a great number of products that I don't like, across all categories, and brands of products that I would never buy personally, however there are people involved. I would never ever ever jump for joy upon hearing that an American company, employing hundreds of people, is filing for Chapter 11 and is potentially subject to being sold off and shipped overseas. For a good example, I would never own a Chrysler product, but you know what, when they filed for bankruptcy back in 2009, my first thoughts were for the people in the factories whose liveyhoods depended upon the job they had in the factory. The great thing about America, and the free market economy specifically is that there is a great number of goods to choose from, in all sorts of categories, and the individual consumer gets to pick what works best for them. I have the Oreck because I live in a small apartment and the Oreck is compact and provides very good cleaning for the medium carpet that I have. But it always goes back to people, and all people, regardless of if you agree with them, the company they run or the products that company makes, deserve your respect <span style="color: #000000;">(unless they've done something to damage that). </span>
