The law of unintended consequences


One day last week I noticed a large wet patch on the raggedy old carpet in my utility/storage room.

I was uncharacteristically impetuous (lol) and called the plumber, having convinced myself that my water heater must be leaking.  The plumber came within 90 minutes.  He made a careful inspection.  There was no leak.  I paid him $80.

He opined that I could have a broken water pipe in the slab under the carpet. He went so far as to pull the carpet up (thank goodness it was not glued down). The slab was utterly dry.

That made me realise that the carpet was utterly ratty, so I decided that it should be taken up, and the floor painted.

I had just gotten a lead on a young man who is supplementing his income by doing odd jobs.   So I hired him last Saturday to paint the floor today.

 In the meantime I needed to tidy the room up so that his task would be easier.

“Tidy up I did”.   In fact I “chucked out” a “ton of stuff” which I had been storing, but which I no longer needed, including a rickety and old set of shelves.

(Rule of thumb:  “if you have not used it in a year you probably do not need it!”).


The young man (James is his name) came to my home this afternoon. He brought a friend to assist him   – a young man who I recognised as a former guest at “Resurrection House” (Sarasota’s Day Shelter for homeless people).

 How cool it was to see a formerly homeless man now gainfully employed.

They did a fabulous job. They took up the carpet, broke down the old set of shelves, and painted the floor: all in the space of two hours.

James asked for $50, but I gave him $60.

So now I have a spiffy and uncluttered utility/ storage room.

It will undoubtedly impress my brother Martyn when he visits from England next month.


Yet I still have no clue as to why that ratty old carpet was so wet.  There is no logical reason for this. NO REASON AT ALL.

Life is strange!  There are so many matters which I do not understand.

In the meantime I’ll take a deep breath, and be glad for this mysterious water stain which pushed me to renovate a utility/storage room.

And I recommend James to any SRQ pals who need an odd-jobber.

SRQ friends should call me for his ‘phone number.

Location: Glen Oaks Dr E, Sarasota, FL 34232, USA

Comments

  1. Daniel Weir20 August 2012 at 20:12

    Have you considered Gideon's experience with the fleece?

    ReplyDelete

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