Fear of Success

Last weekend I went up to the cabin for some R&R. I needed the break. But the only thing that really got a break was my well pump. It worked well Friday night when I got everything up and running but somewhere between going to sleep and waking up to pee at 6:30 the pump decided to give up the ghost.

It was too early to make any phone calls so I waited until around 8, then called Francis Tully, the guy who drilled the well 20 years ago. The recording said he was newly retired and would call back when he got into the office. I figured that being retired meant one would not go to the office on Saturdays so I considered my options.

I went to Rooney's to see if he did wells. He has a plumbing supply business and I remember hearing a while back that he did service calls. No, he said, he doesn't do that. But he did have the names of 3 other plumbers. One lived in Poynelle. I got home and gave him a call.

When I called I explained that I didn't have any money with me and he'd have to wait until I returned to NJ to pay him. Not a problem, he said. Pay me when you get it. And so I met him at the 4-corners to direct him to the cabin. I'll be the cabin was only about a mile away as the crow flies but about 5 miles away by road.

He and his helper looked it over, did some continuity checks and pronounced that it wasn't something simple like a bad relay but the pump was bad and had to be replaced. The pump was about 176 feet down and I'd never seen how any of that work was done. He had a cool machine of three small, pneumatic tires that clamped around the PVC pipe and drew them up. Each section was 20-feet long and he separated them at each joint. The machine also had a long pipe with a basketball hoop on top that guided the sections and secured them so they wouldn't snap.

So, after about 6 hours of being on the job (including about 2 hours of purchasing a new pump) I had water.

He trusted me to pay him when I could. I did, three days later. He trusted me, and that trust was rewarded.

If you ever need a good person to work on your well, I recommend Nobel's Plumbing and Heating, Poyntelle, Pa. (570) 448-2762. And you can tell him I sent you.

Kind of defeats the purpose

Riding from The Bronx Party in Manchester to The Battle of the Bands in Lavallette last week, I had the misfortune of taking Rt. 37 Westbound around noontime. I was prepared to be stuck in beach bound traffic for a good long time but was surprised. Sure, there was traffic. But even with the great weather the traffic was very light. I'm glad because it gave me the chance to people watch at 45 mph.
The yuppies were out. How could I tell? Let me set the scene. It is drop-dead gorgeous outside. The sun is shining. The temps are in the 80s. The convertibles are out sporting labels like Audi, Mercedes, BMW with two occupants beach bound. And what do you do with a convertible on a beautiful day? Ride with the top down, right? NOT! Each one of these yuppy-mobiles had the tops up and the air conditioners going. Excuse me, but doesn't that kind of defeat the reason why you have a convertible?
What perchance do they do once they reach the white sands of Seaside Heights? Probably dash into the Aztec for the air conditioning and umbrella drinks.
Ah, maybe they're just conscious of the harmful effects of UV rays. But then, why go to the beach?
Maybe it's just me.

Curses! Foiled again!

Oh well, the deadline has come and gone and alas, I did not get to finish in time. Not a problem.