Tuesday's Tale

It was just at freezing when I woke up Tuesday morning. So, the some of the water that had thawed yesterday was frozen into ice in spots of the road. But, the drive in wasn’t that bad.

I walked over some of my slow cooker minestrone to my friend Michelle in Facilities during my 10:00 a.m. walk.

I got the call from Scott about 10 minutes after noon, so I headed home. They beat me, but not by much.

Scott did some preliminary diagnosis, and decided it must be the igniter (again?) He took it off and sure enough, it was broken. He said he had a used one in the truck he wouldn’t charge me for. But, he dropped it while screwing it on and it shattered! I said I still had the first one I bought, so I went and got it. But, there was a hairline crack in it! Damn these things are fragile!

So, they left for parts. When they came back, he said he had bought all there was in the store (three), just in case. He carefully put one on, fired it up and the furnace worked!!! I paid him for the part and then gave him another $20. He said, “Don’t be silly, we were down this way anyway.” I said, “No, I’m buying you both lunch!”

They left, I turned off the propane heater and I went back to work. I was only about 10 minutes late (no big deal as I had already cleared it with my boss, first thing in the morning). I snacked on that half of a Jimmy Johns sandwich I had stashed in the fridge. It wasn’t as fresh, but it hit the spot.

When I got home after work, the house was warmed and didn’t smell like propane! I have had a low-grade headache for a week now from smelling those fumes.

I put away the space heater and the propane tank and started to straighten the place up. I was putting some tools away in the garage when I heard the phone ring. I couldn’t get to it, of course, but when I went back in I had a voicemail from Leon. So, I called him back.

He said he wanted to wish me a Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We talked about the cold (I lost a furnace, he lost two calves) and stuff in general. He asked about the bike (of course). He said he’s really looking forward to “somebody” pulling it up into his driveway before he dies. I told him to plan on living a long time…

After we hung up, I made dinner. I “baked” a potato in the microwave and then heated up two thick slices of meatloaf. It was simple, but good!

I watched TV until 10:00 p.m. and then went to bed.