December 2, 2011
Dear Everyone:
I
hope all had as lovely a
Thanksgiving as we had.
“Marshall” drove up from
Fresno and brought “Jeannie” and me to
our niece, “Liza’s”, place in
Oakland where she, along with her
roommates, played hostess to a substantial crowd.
In
addition to the roommates, there was a roommate’s mother, up from
Ecuador, and a number of friends/former classmates from
Houston.
In all, there were ten of us around the table which, for those of
us who grew up in a family of nine, was positively nostalgic.
We
had all the traditional Thanksgiving fare, complete with turkey,
stuffing, casseroles, potatoes and three kinds of pie, thanks to
“Jeannie”. And a glad time
was had by all.
Then, on Saturday, I discovered that the water had been turned off at my
home. I went out to
investigate and quickly discovered the
Scene of the Crime:
A tree root had penetrated a
water main.
There being only one main course of water coming into the entire
community (typical cheeseparing on the part of the developers), all the
water had to be shut off at the source.
The
Homeowners Association President was doing the best she could.
She already had the company that does repair and maintenance work
around the place on hand and the plumber was “on the way”.
They were already digging up the area where the initial “blowout”
had happened and placing yellow “caution” tape around anything not
moving.
I
decided that this was God’s way of telling me to go out for lunch, to my
favorite restaurant, which had a restroom on hand.
Which I made sure to use before leaving.
When I originally bought this place, back in 2009, one of the first
things I did, before moving in, was to have Our Friend The Plumber
replace the two existing toilets with newer, “comfort-height” toilets.
They also happened to be “efficiency” toilets which used far less
water. And I knew from
experience, that each toilet could be used up to three times before
flushing would become absolutely necessary.
Always a good thing to know.
Of
course all this happened over the Thanksgiving Weekend, when plumbing
contractor stores would be closed.
By Sunday afternoon, things were becoming dire.
Homeowners were actively yelling at the Association President
(like that would help anything.)
According to one of the workers, they would need a
backhoe to
proceed. And something about
the utility not turning the water off at the official main (at the
entrance to Eastridge Drive) sufficiently to make things work.
When in doubt, yell at somebody and blame the utility.
I
decided to go and get some water.
As I was driving out, I saw the plumber, with a very determined
look on his face, pull up and march over to the big hole in the yard
where, presumably, the main shutoff was.
I
got a bunch of those 2-½ gallon plastic containers of purified water
into the trunk of my car and drove home.
Hauled two of them into the house.
Flushed one toilet, then filled the tank with less than half a
container of water. Here’s
to “efficiency” toilets!!!
Flushed the second toilet, which is when I realized that it was filling,
slowly, without my help.
That’s how I discovered just how determined that plumber really was.
He had gotten the water flowing, although with very little
pressure. But it was enough.
Later, I found a notice taped to my front door, announcing that the
water was back on, temporarily, but would be shut off again Monday
morning for further repairs.
Here’s to determined plumbers!!!
Wednesday night, we got another notice, that the water would be shut off
again on Thursday, for final repairs.
Another great excuse to go out for lunch!
As
of today, the Great Thanksgiving Weekend Water Disaster is completely
over. Thank goodness.
In the meantime, I have approximately ten gallons of drinkable
(and flushable) water sitting in a corner of the living room.
It pays to be prepared.
I
remember once, many decades ago, our mother reminiscing about an
appliance salesman who asked her to name the “greatest modern
convenience” of all time. Having
grown up on a farm with well water during the
Great Depression, she
replied, “When you turn a tap and hot water comes out.”
It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but she was right.
Love, as always,
Pete
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