Bubba on the roof

You cannot imagine the month of July and early August at Many Branches.  We have been without Gas for three weeks therefore we have been without baths, showers, hot water of any kind and men running in and out of the house like ants to a picnic.  Yesterday, after 10 hours (in one day) the Water 'Works guy, Jimmy, declared that we were cleared to have Columbia Gas turn on the gas, but, it was Friday, after 5:00 with the week end ahead soooo we are still without gas, but at least it is fixed without them tearing up the front yard. The first inkling of 'condo' had registered in my mind and palm trees waved hello in the background. Owning a home is expensive as you all know and rarely without something needing doing. But, this is the first time the condo vision appeared on my horizon.  Now when I think of Bubba on the roof, refusing to come down, the vision becomes more clear.  Columbia Gas insisted we put a cap on the last of three chimneys so I called a 'specialist' who works on restoring chimneys and brick work etc.  Bubba said he would come out to look at it for $89. First red flag.  He came and gave us a price but RUN  Doris RUN, kept coming to mind.  Nevertheless, I ignored it and hired him to come on Wednesday. He came in a regular truck and I wondered where the tall ladder might have been carried, but let him proceed. (Run Doris Run) He got a ladder out of his truck that did not look like it would do the job, (and it didn't) but he was a professional, maybe even magical.  The next thing I knew he was on the roof but when I looked out the ladder was a one and a half story ladder leaning against a three story house with a slate roof.  How was he to get down?  He didn't get down.  He put the cap on and told Andy, my husband, to call 911 to get the firemen to come and get him off the roof--he was not going to get down.  A few minutes later four men and hook and ladder truck and a police car came to Cooke Road to get this guy off the roof while shutting down a lane of Cooke Road to accomplish this. Bubba was not, however, too scared to pick up his check which he insisted on having the check in his name rather than the company name.  So, I surmised that he was moonlighting with the company's truck, name, and equipment and therefore the company never actually got the money.  I called the company the next day...guess who answered, yep, it was Bubba. I was going to report him to the owners, but he was smart enough to by-pass this call.  I may get to it yet, after the other crisis is taken care of.

Needless to say we have been eating garden gifts for three weeks--corn on the cob and every way else one can think of to use corn; peaches from the outdoor markets, sliced tomatoes and squash from our garden...not so bad when you think about it.  We will be okay and I am trying to beat down the condo picture and the vision of a on-call handy man.