Oops

For it to be Spring Break here in Alabama, and for there to be so few cars on the roads in the morning, there sure are a lot of ‘em out at lunchtime! There were a ton of moms and dads at the Civic Center, so I assume there must have been some sort of event going on for the kiddies.

Anyway, got home around 12:20 to find a utility trailer parked beside the house and a decided lack of activity. Went in, Oldest said someone knocked on the door a bit after noon then they left. No messages on the machine. ::sigh:: Contractors.

I ate a bite for lunch, then as it edged up toward 1, I figured it might be time for another pleasant round of phone tag. The receptionist answered and I gave her my name and address and asked ever so politely where the workers were. She tried to raise the rep on the radio whom I’ve been badgering, said she couldn’t find him, but would get him to call as quick as possible. ::sigh:: Contractors.

Waited around, watched the horror of Fox’s Good Day Live, and then it got to be an hour past the time of the first call, which meant it was time for another call. Talked to the receptionist again, who seemed genuinely flustered—“But…but he said, he…he called and said—he told me that they were on their way!” Hey, color me shocked, too, ma’am. She said she would call him once more and see what was going on, and she PROMISED he would call me back this time. ::sigh:: Contractors.

Hung up, and just a few minutes later I heard the muffled thump of doors being slammed out at the curb, and at the very same moment the phone rang—“Mr. Oglesby? Hey, I just wanted to call and…” “Hey there, man, I ‘ppreciate you calling back so quick—they just showed up out here! Thanks a lot!” Schmuck.

Went out and saw a couple of very well fed swarthy sorts looking up at the chimney. The more nicely dressed guy with the cool sunglasses asked, “Dennis?” “No, I’m Terry Oglesby, I’m the owner.” We shook hands and began the delicate squat and hunker, in which we debated the finer points of what was going to occur. “Did they tell you what was going on?” “Yeah, I think I can see—don’t look like there’s no flashing up there.” I explained that I thought there might be a flashing, but it didn’t do any good with a nail through it. He turned and began conversing with his partner in Construction Spanglish, (el flasheeng, el shiitrock) and I nodded along as if I knew what they were saying.

Luckily, I could pretty much follow it, and the other, bigger, guy was basically saying they needed to pull everything off and start from scratch and it might take till tomorrow. He never spoke to me, but I could tell he knew what he was talking about. They stopped for a bit and I went on a bit about how the waferboard had soaked up water like a sponge over the years and couldn’t get dried out and finally leaked through to the inside. Big Mex nodded along, (he understood me a whole lot better than I understood him) and we finally decided it was doable. When? “Well, we’re going to go get some lunch, but we have a crew coming by with the rest of the guys, and they should be here in a little while. It will probably be tomorrow before we get all finished though.” “Well, just as long as it’s fixed right and doesn’t leak…” “Oh no, we’re gonna fix it just right—whatever’s wrong, we’ll fix it when we’re in there. The more we find wrong and fix, the more we get paid!”

There you go, dude—THAT’S the spirit!

This looks like the start of a beautiful friendship…
posted by Terry at 2:38:00 PM