Adobe Greetings,
On this rainy summer morning we were all ready at 8 AM to load the car and begin a six hour trip to Crested Butte, Colorado. We awoke early to finalize preparations for our road trip and were excited about our dinner plans with close friends. It was to be an early Father’s Day dinner celebration.
As I walked through the hallway to the kitchen, I stated out loud in absolute amazement, “I just felt a drop of water coming from the ceiling.” I looked up while wiping it from my shoulder.
“Oh, it can’t be anything,” my husband responded at my unexpected comment. “But, look at the floor, there’s a puddle starting there” I continued. “Oh no, we have a leak we absolutely need to fix before leaving home we both concluded in disappointment.
Finding a plumber to come over right away was our first priority now, and we thought it helped to mention our plans of being on our way to a friend’s celebration of life. Being a Saturday morning the office is closed yet this is the kind of situation that calls for an emergency plumber.
About an hour later in walks Eddie the Plumber, a gregarious New Mexican native born in 1969 with a bellowing hello and a handshake wearing a tie-dyed shirt and denim overalls. His curly hair hangs down over his eyes and is shaved up the back while his full grayish mustache and beard frames his big smile. His glasses sit on the edge of his nose.
With the diagnosis of a broken water heater that called for an immediate replacement, my husband joined Eddie the Plumber for a colorful ride in the van which was jam packed with anything one might need enroute to purchase a new one. Just as they were getting into the van, out of nowhere a young ferret jumped up on the plumbers leg prompting him to look down and excitedly pick him up and then go on to cuddle with him.
It was determined that he/she may be someone’s pet as it was very friendly. We decided to keep it for the moment while looking for his owners.
Autumn gladly moved out of her crate where she was voluntarily napping so we could carry it outside to the front entry way for the lost ferret to rest until it’s owner could be located.
Neighbors were called upon, more calls were made, a large sign was posted at the entrance to our cul de sac, online message boards were notified, even the mailman’s assistance was requested in an attempt to re-connect the owners with their lost ferret.
Meanwhile Bob & Eddie the Plumber arrived back home with the new water heater. Soon it became apparent that a plumber’s assistant was needed for this project and fortunately one was easily available.
The attempt to remove the old water heater was a difficult one, yet upon a bit of demolition, a lot of banging and clanging, removing of the fire door, trim, the wall around the old water heater and a bit of belting out the song “slipping and sliding away” by Eddie the Plumber, things were looking promising upstairs.
Downstairs though, water was pouring out of the ceiling vent into two buckets on the floor and we had towels all around mopping up the splatters. It didn’t help that today was the first rainy day in the dry Southwest in quite awhile. Our saltillo tile staircase was slippery and wet despite our efforts otherwise to keep the plumbers from actually slipping and sliding away.
Out front under our covered entry way, the lost ferret was cuddled up in a towel inside the crate with water and food nearby just in case. It was apparent again that it was indeed a pet after witnessing another cuddle session with our singing plumber.
It’s been quiet for a few hours now as Eddie and his assistant have gone to locate a piece of plywood for the floor of the water heater closet to bolster it after it sustained a bit of water damage. Only the sound of a commercial fan loudly running is heard until it begins to smell which is replaced by our standing home fan to dry out the floor before installation of the new water heater can be completed.
Our dog, Autumn oddly seems a little under the weather today and is resting comfortably now in her couch bed in the living room until the excitement begins again with the return (hopefully) of the singing plumber and his handy assistant, later today.
Just as we completed a clean-up of all the mud and griminess of this morning, the rain has returned. There is no sign of the eccentric singing plumber or his handy assistant and the lost ferret is still resting comfortably awaiting a familiar face to locate him.
Although we are disappointed to delay our trip and potentially miss our friend’s tribute, we are grateful to have noticed the leak prior to leaving for a week or more. At this time we are happy for a positive outcome for our home and for the ferret who remarkably left with Eddie the Plumber with an immediate trip planned to Pet Smart for ferret food. I was heard saying something I don’t say very often before they all drove away, “Thanks for saving the day.”
We never anticipated how this day would go and it was filled with unexpected turns and surprises. The lesson is always be ready for the unexpected and stay positive, you never know how it will turn out. We send our love to our late friend, Steve and his family.
Warmly,
Nancy
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