Write a reflection inspired by
May 2012, be as creative or as formal as you wish.
This too will pass.
Precociously curious as a child, I read
and read about the world around me. Lay philosophers were everywhere with free
insights and free advice. Masters filled libraries. Heraclitis said “you
don’t step into the same stream twice”, but truisms are oddly comforting, sometimes.
May has been an expensive month. In truth, January, February, March and April were
worse. An obstinately plugged drain, took hours of plunging, 2 trips to rent larger and more powerful augers and 2 trips from a plumber with a 350
pound super rooter, finally blasted through an inch layer of what appeared to be a bar of soap. Yes, the pioneers did use fat to make
soap with lye and what is Drano? Lye
! For years tenants poured oils and fats down the drain and with a chaser of
Draino. My pipes were making solid, hard soap. I saw it with
my own eyes! No matter how often I suggest paper towels or parchment paper and
pouring the grease into the green bin, some tenants are slow learners or maybe
just saboteurs. Plumbers hate products like Draino, because they are so
corrosive and will sit there in the water making it dangerous to work on your blocked pipes.
Frans asked me if I knew anyone who would do a
website for him. I thought , there is something I always wanted to try so I
took a few digital Pix with my new cell phone, I bought 6 weeks earlier because I did not have a digital camera, nor
cell phone. Even when you are giving
things away for free, on Kijiji, people still want to know what it looks like,
before they drive over to check it out. I downloaded a trial template from
ebizwebsites, downloaded pictures of plumbing, uploaded his pix, and after about 10 hours, Voila! FranVoogtPlumbing.com
The same tenant then informed me, two of
his burners got warm but not hot enough to boil water. The stove is at least 10
years old, with solid elements and I could not get them to budge. Back to
Kijiji for a stove.
Next
my air conditioner would not come on in the heat wave. The A/C is a Preston, 30 years old and no longer
manufactured. My A/C guy arrives and finds electrocuted mice have
nibbled through wires and informs me
that new units are much more efficient and he does not know if he can get parts
for mine. $2500 for a brand new A/C plus labour plus taxes and they can arrange
financing! Yahoo. I tell him to try and fix it and I will put a new A/C on my wish list after my broken teeth, water softener
and car repairs. I carry around booster cables because my starter is
intermittent, but I favour parking on an incline, so I can pop the clutch.
I am in the house, next to the main panel and he yells to me to turn the breaker back on.
I can hear him through the wall. “Your A/C is working” he says excitedly after replacing a box with
something he luckily had in his truck. But I hear grinding from the panel and
smoke is definitely coming from the breaker, not a good sign. He inspects this
problem and exclaims, “You need an electrician” and gives me one of his buddy’s card. I thank him but I
know my guy will work for $30 an hour cash.
My electrician can come on Saturday and
reminds me to pick up a 15 amp 2 pole Commander/Sylvanna/CEO.
Because of his previous visits, I know they don’t make these breakers anymore. Electric
supply companies keep used parts in a back room somewhere. After unsuccessful
trips to Gerrie’s, Little’s and Ray’s
in Cambridge I was told to try Pope’s in Kitchener. $60 for a used 2 pole was too
much. If I was a true entrepreneur I would take these used breakers to China
and bring home a thousand and sell them
on eBay for all those homeowners with
houses like mine that are 30 + years old. But on a more practical path, when I
can afford it, I will replace one of my subpanels and salvage the breakers.
Adam accompanied by his 11 year old daughter, found
another nest of mice complete with nursing babies. Carefully he gathered up the
insulation she nested in and placed it under the unit. His daughter carried one
around while he did more repairs on the A/C. He explained his dad was an
A/C+Heating contractor and Adam had just replaced contacts and capacitor, and as well, boosted
his compressor 2 weeks earlier, and his unit was only 7 years old. He like so
many repairmen have told me, yes, newer is more efficient but wears out faster.
$40 later and my breaker no longer smoked. Yahoo!
A few months ago, my tenants’ shower
diverter was stuck and then ripped. Again with a 30year old plumbing fixture, I
was told that I would have to rip the tiled wall down to install new shower
guts. I went down to One Stop Plumbing in Kitchener and they let me look
through their old catalogue until I recognized the distinctive handles and could
get the correct numerical description of
this part no longer stocked by American
Stardard in Canada or the USA. I googled the part and after phoning at least a
dozen American Plumbing Supply companies, I would always end with a plea, could
they think of any other supply company I could pester? Please. Finally a guy,
who had been in parts for 42 years, Harlan in South Carolina told me that
American Standard had subcontracted a German Company to make these and he would
call me back after he checked his stock. Harlan saved the day with a $26 part
that arrived in 2 days. I now know why companies promise their products for
life.
Reflecting back on this past May I realize
that book learning is okay for kids, but there is a real world out there with
more experienced minds, that can teach us plenty of life lessons, if you are
open to learning. If you think education is expensive, then try ignorance.
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