Things Break

At the sound of water suddenly rushing from the roof on a sunny day I hit hyper drive going from WTF to panic; grabbed the phone to call my handyman on my way down my steep driveway to turn off the water.

Out of breath from the return trip, I saw that did nothing to stem the tide. Handyman’s outgoing message simply said, “Call again.” I turned off the line to the roof tank; nothing. I stood there with my mouth open calling the handyman again while watching two hundred gallons flow down the sidewalk. The last thing I need before going on a trip is an unexpected expense; this had big bucks written all over it.

I jumped in the car, as I pulled around the house my handyman and his brother-in-law drove up the driveway.

“Water’s really coming out of there,” he said.

Ok, he understands the problem, I thought.

“What happened?” You could find out by going up the ladder, I thought, but instead simply turned my palms up in the universal I don’t freaking know position. When under stress you have a propensity to sarcasm body language tends to be a better choice.

With sweaty palms, I motioned them up the ladder saying, “Tu digame.” You tell me. In the last few years, I’ve had a couple of trips screwed up by unexpected expenses. This always seems to come just before or after budgeting out a trip. I live frugally eating simple meals at home and don’t shop for sport. Going to the gym costs less than a dollar a day; gas gobbles up more of my budget than I’d like, but there’s nothing like an emergency to decimate the purse.

Lifelong neighbors, brothers-in-law worked in tandem beautifully, almost like a dance. Before long I enjoyed watching the precision teamwork; my anxiety lessened somewhat. The flow slowed gradually to a halt.

Excluding next month’s water bill, the minimal damage was done this time. Seniors barely get by and now with inflation increasing and income decreasing; has anyone seen the movie, Soylent Green? The great character actor, Edward G. Robinson died shortly after this performance with a shocking ending.

Anyway, my pulse slowly returned to normal and I’m calming down. See you in the movies.