Tubes are not so unreliable

While getting my hair cut, I remarked to my barber about his Zenith table radio. It featured FM, but seemed to be of mid-60's vintage. He confirmed that he probably bought it in 1965 or 1966. When I told him it must be tubed, he said it was. He has played it every day the barbershop has been open since the radio was purchased. I asked him how often he has had to replace a tube. The answer was, "Never, I have never touched anything inside of it." He didn't know how many or what types of tubes the radio used. His sentiment was that if a tube ever goes, he will have to retire it(but not get rid of it). That's when I told him to tell me if that ever happens. I will hook him up with the tubes. That was when Zenith was Zenith. Before the dark days; how they went from being the best to the worst. The radio was bought for the princely sum of $85. I wonder how much that would be in today's money. Enough to buy the WaveRadio I am sure. Now, who would ever suggest that someone buying the Bose would ever get 35 years of use out of it? I guess tubes are not so unreliable after all. So, for anyone who worries about buying tube equipment, you might want to think about this story