Unexpected Events

Today at work I got a call from Va. The toilet would not flush. It has been awfully sluggish of late, and I was having a hard time getting it plunged. She suggested that perhaps our septic tank needed attention, and I reluctantly agreed.

We’ve been in this house for eight and a half years now, and we’ve never done anything to the tank at all maintenance-wise. So it was time. I called four places. One doesn’t service my town, though their ads suggest that they would since they service NH, ME, VT, and MA. With that kind of coverage, one would think that they would serve all the towns in those states, but no.

The second place I called was nearer to my house. The phone rang, went “click,” then then went silent. I tried them twice. On to the next one. His truck was down, but he suggested that I call another guy and gave me his number.

I like it when people do that.

I called Al’s Laconia Septic, and his wife agreed to send him out. He’d be there between 3:30 and 4:00. I knew Va would not want to handle this at all, so I thought I’d just come home a little early to deal with it. And that’s when Beth’s teacher called.

Beth was sick and wanted to come home. So I went and got her, and then set up shop at home to finish out the work day.

Al’s wife said that it would cost a minimum of $50 if Al had to dig the hole to find the tank. She also said, it was never just $50. Methinks Al does not like to dig the hole, and I sure don’t blame him. When I got home, I offered David $50 to dig (and later bury) the hole. We got out the plans and he dug several test holes before he found the cover. It took him maybe an hour. That’s pretty good pay for hole-digging.

Once David had found the hole I got the GPS out and got its coordinates. Then I wrote them on the septic plan.

Al arrived right on time and was delighted that the hole had already been dug. He got right to work.

Al Taking Care of Business

David’s Hole

Beth poked her head out the door and asked if this was going to stink. Al told her it would not, and to my surprise, it really didn’t. He said it would sure get ripe next to the truck though, because as he pumps the sewage in, it has to let the air out (otherwise is would compress all that air in his tank, and sewage under pressure seems like it could be a Really Bad Thing).

Al finished his work in short order, and Va wrote him a check. He was such a pleasant guy that I can hardly wait until I need to have this done again.

But I will!