The Mister and I are having plumbling work done – I mean major plumbing work, like backhoes, jack hammers and more burly-looking plumbers than you can shake a pipe wrench at. We’d been putting off this job for a while. The sewer pipe in the front yard has collapsed in one area because the tree roots got into it, and periodically it would plug up, leaving us with a most unpleasant, and increasingly expensive, clean up job after the plumber unclogged the pipe.
“Can’t go on like this, Pa,” I said after the last time. “That piece of pipe’s got to be replaced.”
“Yep, I know. But it’ll cost.”
“Shore ’nuff, but this is costin’ us too. Let’s get this taken care of so we don’t have to worry about it any more.”
“OK there, Missus, will do.” And we started looking around for quotes. We settled on a company who had done some work for us before. They all arrived this morning at 8 on the dot, and no sooner had they started digging and hammering than all manner of friend, neighbour, and passerby had to stop to inspect the goings-on.
“Hey Tony! They diggin’ a hole to China?”
“Naw, just looking for worms.”
“They dig up any bodies yet?”
“Give me some credit. I buried ’em deeper ‘n that!”
One neighbour commented to the backhoe driver on what a really impressive trench he was creating. He moved his toothpick to the other side of his mouth.
“It’s an important pipe,” he said, then added philosophically. “After all, everybody needs a toilet.”
The Mister took that in for a moment then replied, “Especially when you’re as full of it as we are.”
Why, oh why can’t he speak for himself?
More on our plumbing adventure later.
