A cold wind blows - maybe
Did you ever notice that things you really need or really want always seem to run out or break down on weekends, when you can't get anybody to replace or fix them? I swear I am cursed by this affliction.
If your car blows up, it will be the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday and not an early Tuesday morning. If your heating system dies, it will be in dead of winter on a below-zero Sunday and not on a 40-degree Thursday in October. My air conditioning gave up the ghost last Saturday night in the midst of a mini heat wave here in Little Martin. I came home to an 87-degree house after visiting and shopping that evening, and I knew it was pointless to call anyone. Since all of the local AC repair companies would have charged more for a Sunday emergency call than you or I can afford, I bit the bullet and decided to swelter through a very hot, sticky weekend.
Perhaps the air conditioning gods were toying with me, because when I called Monday morning to order a service call, my AC company informed me that due to the heat wave, they were slammed and didn't have anyone to send until Tuesday. Well, after pleading, begging, and offering to sign my children into indentured slavery, the company with which I have done business for 20 years relented. I was informed that I should wait at the house for Rob, my friendly AC technician, beginning at noon. Well, a thoroughly overworked, sweat-soaked, and haggard-looking Rob finally showed up at 5:30, apologizing profusely while jumping into action. Initially pissed at the delay, my anger melted as I thought back to my younger days.
Since I had many years' experience of outside agricultural work in South Florida's brutal heat, I knew what kind of day Rob was experiencing and imagined the upset customers he had to deal with. I poured him a large glass of iced tea and went outside to keep him company. We had a great chat while he worked, I kept the iced tea flowing, and he knocked a considerable chunk of his labor time off the final bill.
The moral of the story? There is none except that sometimes it pays to think about the other person's situation, even when we're uncomfortable or upset ourselves. All I know is this: Rob's a great kid, I have a new, friendly acquaintance, and the cold, cold air is blowing throughout the House of B2.