Friday, November 9, 2007

Just A Little Heartwarming Story


Well the temperature did a freakazoid nosedive this week, catching us all with our porch plants unprotected. And you know how you're supposed to check your heater before you actually need it to make sure it's working so that when you do actually need it, it'll be there for you?
Well, we had this thermostat that was theoretically programmable, and I say "theoretically" because I couldn't even figure out how to get the heat or AC to come on without going through the book, which never really helped, but somehow in my fumblings I usually managed to get the damn thing on. But I was never quite sure whether it was me or the thermostat and I did try to get the heater to come on before the cold snap, but I couldn't, and by Wednesday morning I was pretty sure it was the heater itself that needed fixing, not me. The burner sound would come on and then it would go off and I'd smell gas.
Bummer. I called the heat repair place and since the temperature was supposed to drop into the thirties that night, they were of course booked solid for service calls, but promised to have someone come out between one p.m. and five p.m. I said I'd be here, and since I was supposed to be going to an event in Monticello that evening, I baked cookies to take with me while waiting for the Heater Guy to show up.
At five thirty, TWO heater guys showed up, brothers, and they got right to work. About the same time they got here I got the word that the event in Monticello was canceled and so I offered the guys some cookies, which they greatly appreciated. As they worked to try to diagnose my problem, the night began to fall (darn this time change) and so I made them a pot of coffee and poured them cups and served them another round of cookies (oatmeal/raisin/chocolate chip/pecan, in case you're curious) and they really appreciated the snack. It was getting cold.
My daughter and a friend of hers came out for supper so there was a lot going on for awhile. Luckily, all seven of the fireplaces in this old house have been converted to gas logs which actually provide heat, so we weren't freezing and I wasn't desperate when the heater brothers sadly told me that they were going to have to come back the next day with parts, leaving us without the central heat for the night.
I was in a good mood so I told them it was okay, not to worry, we had the gas logs and we wouldn't freeze to death. And they were so apologetic and sweet that I almost invited them to stay for supper but I knew they had families to get home to.
It did freeze that night and several of my begonias are now icky green mush and my datura, which was just one day away from blooming, is too.
Darn.
And I froze all day yesterday. I got warm when I walked but then I got cold again and so I decided to draw a hot bath and when I got out of that, the sweet heater guys were back and had the parts replaced and the heater working. It was like magic, only better, maybe.
I had mentioned how much I hated the programmable thermostat and they put in a new one that you can actually turn off and on and it's so simple to operate that even I can do it. For this, they charged me nothing, still feeling bad that I'd had to go a cold night without heat. Also, I think they liked those cookies.
And the parts were still under warranty so I didn't have to pay for that and they charged me what I consider to be a minimal service charge.
So it pays to be nice and it pays to be gracious, is what I say.
By the time they left I knew a little bit about their lives and had seen pictures on the younger brother's cell phone of the deer he'd shot that morning. "You're a good hunter!" I told him. "That's because I'm from Perry," he said.
So God bless central heating units and God bless fellows from Perry that are good hunters and really care about their customers and their job.
When they left I told them to stop by any time and I really meant it.
Hell, I'd make cookies again for those boys.

7 comments:

  1. Years ago, I had only an old window unit heater die, when it was supposed to be in the teens for a low. It was kind of pathetic being underneath four blankets, crouched in front of a space heater. Glad to hear it got taken care of.

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  2. Haha - I love your positive-ness. That's so crazy - we had a new heater put in the very next day. It's one reason I was glad to get out of the house and go to the Opera House - our house was FREEZING!! The heater guy told us our heater was only blowing out gas, not heat - but he brought a new one in that finally works. Ours didn't work all last winter and we spent the whole time in sweatsuits and blankets - I did not want to do that again this year! Especially with how cold is it tonight - brrrrrr.......

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  3. Yeah. I really appreciate a good heating system.
    Having lived as a back-to-the-land-hippie in my youth, there are a few things that I will NEVER take for granted. Among these are not having to heat with a woodstove and not having to pump my water from a well outside with a leaky old iron pump, then hauling it in the house.
    Hot water that comes from a faucet is the apex of civilization as far as I'm concerned.

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  4. hey, who was the company that those guys were from?

    unca b

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  5. Todd King. Highly recommended. You planning on turning your heat on this year, Unca B?

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  6. you know our rule:

    no heat unless old people, children, or cripples are at the house.

    so get up on the bed puppies! i got a feeling it's gonna be a cold one.

    unca b

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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