My New Hero

Let me tell you about my new hero. His name is Billy, and he is an appliance repairman.

You see, Sharon and I have this big tub of screws that we have kept ever since we built and subsequently moved into this house. We have all kinds of little nails and screws in that tub, and we are just sure to have one in stock for every occasion.

The problem came when that tub happened to be sitting on top of the dryer. And then, poor Kris comes along with arms loaded down with some bedding to wash. And the tub of screws and nails was swept right into the washer….UNBEKNOWNST to my poor unsuspecting Self.

And I was not aware of the goings on in the midst of the sheets until that load reached its Spin Cycle. And such a screeching ensued that I knew without a doubt that there was a Problem. And so I interrupted the cycle, mid-spin, and what should I observe, but a washer filled with not only screws and nails, but also the remains of what had once been a Small Cardboard Box. And I immediately declared that I did not know how that circumstance could have happened without my having been made Aware. Ignorance did not, however, make those screws and nails and cardboard shreds any less There. And so, I peeled the bedding away from the sides of the dryer, shook the cardboard remnants onto the floor, and sent them immediately into the Dry Cycle next door. The vacuum cleaner was put into action, and I swept up whatever cardboard shreds I could get to.

The screws and nails were next. Thank goodness for a handy-dandy magnetic wand. And I retrieved screws and nails for the next good little While. And when I had retrieved all of them, I tentatively set the cycle back into motion. And then I knew that I had not, in fact, gotten them all. And I wished them away, and I prayed them away. And still, they were There.

I knew a Confession was in order, and so I called my younger sister, with Whom I reside, and I confessed to having had a minor Mishap which had quite possibly resulted in the ruination of an otherwise functional washing machine. And I could tell by the Tone that she wasn’t as understanding as I would have hoped her to be. This was confirmed when she insisted that I would have to be the one to call the Repairman. And I didn’t argue. Not even a little.

Enter Billy—my new hero Billy. Billy knows his stuff. He was such a kindly and understanding gentleman, that I liked him instantly. And he took that machine apart so quickly and easily. And he did not mock me when he found a long-lost comb in the midst thereof. And he did not scold me for washing our household supply of screws and nails. He merely minded his own business and did his job. And he did such a good job with fixing my washing machine that when he left, I asked him if he fixed icemakers too. And he said yes. And I asked him to please look at my icemaker. And five minutes later, the icemaker was fixed also! At no extra charge!

And the whole mess cost me a little over $80. And when I reported to my sister, I made her guess at the cost. And she bravely guessed $250. And she was pleasantly Surprised—as was I.

Unfortunately, that was not the last Billy saw of that washing machine. For with the very next load of wash, more screws made their way down into the pump, and we had the same problem as before. Billy had predicted that this might happen, but I was still loathe to call him back. But I called again anyway. And on Monday, Billy came back with no grumbling--while I was in school. And when I came home, there was another bowl with quite a few more screws sitting on the dryer. But now, the washer is Fixed!

I like people like Billy.

in the Student Lounge

We got out of my Ambulatory Care class a little earlier than usual, so I went to the Student Lounge to kill some time. The Student Lounge is an interesting place. It has four round tables, two computers, and a whole variety of outdated magazines. More interesting than the place, however, is the conglomeration of people that frequent the place. The HCA department is very small in comparison to other departments, so invariably, the same people come trotting in and out every day, and it doesn’t take long to be on a first-name basis with them—especially when we have the same unpopular professor in common.

I was surprised to find one of the Public Health students sitting in the lounge. Katie was one that had been in my Community Health class last semester. I had never really talked with her for any length of time, but I recognized her as one who had suffered through that class along with me. So I went and sat with her. She was studying for a test coming up later that day, but we, along with several others, began to chit-chat. Kevonna started talking about how she just doesn’t have any more “mo-jo.” I, of course, being the white girl I am, didn’t have any idea what “mo-jo” is. I gathered from the ensuing conversation, however, that “mo-jo” is, in fact, short for “motivation.” Ohh…

So then Katie began telling us about the motivational conversation she had with herself in the car this morning. She is a Senior and is just ready to be finished, I think. Her conversation went something like this, “Katie, you CAN do this, and you WILL do this.” There were some other things she said, but I can’t remember them. She says she has to do that quite a bit.

I had helped Kevonna in our biostats lab yesterday, and somehow, that became the next topic of conversation. Kevonna declared that she can only understand stuff when I—not the professor—explain it to her, and, in fact, she wishes she were just like me. She seems to think I’ve got it all together… (if she only knew). Anyway, I knew that was just Kevonna talking, but I was a bit surprised when Katie chimed in and pronounced ME “the Most Interesting Person.” I just laughed at her, but she insisted that she and her friend Lenore have talked about it quite a bit. She said she has told Lenore that she just wishes she were “such an interesting person as [me].” She also said that she just “looooves to listen to me talk.” Astounding! This sentiment apparently all comes from when I had to talk about my community service project during class last semester. I had talked about our medical aid plan and how it works, and if I remember correctly, she did come up to me afterward and told me how interesting she thought it was.

It turns out that Katie is the daughter of a doctor in Glasgow who serves a large Amish population. So I guess that is maybe why she thought it was so interesting. So anyway, after we had established that (despite my modest objections) I was, in fact, the Most Interesting Person, we went on to talk about all manner of Amishness and Mennonitisms. I even gave a little history lesson for her, and on and on we went…until I had to leave for my epidemiology class. I enjoyed hanging out with Katie for the hour.

It was especially pleasant being the Most Interesting Person for the day… even though tomorrow I must go back to being my Plain Old Self.