Sunday, September 15, 2019

He Does That Often





My neighbor, who helps to serve as a bit of caretaker around our place pointed out that our window trim on the back of the house needed to be stained or pretty soon, those boards will have irreparable damage.  My father agreed.  Let’s go and get some paint tomorrow so we can take care of this.  Different, when its' your own place.  

Today he rolled up at 8:00AM.  I’d been up on calls to China since two-in-the-morning and was still on a call when he arrived.  He waited and puttered around the place while I drove on and then another call to completion.  Antsy, he searched for brushes and found them down in the basement.  And then searched the place to see if we had any paint.  “Do you have a scrubby pad?”  Muting the call I’m on I mention: “I think you’ll find them there, under the sink.” 



I assume were driving to the huge mega, everything-to-do-with-home store, Lowes out on 299, but he instead goes down a side street in town that I don’t even recognize and arrives at the True Value hardware store.  He’d had said the name “True Value” and I just hadn’t recognized it as such.   “There is more of a personal touch here”, he informs me. It feels like local people own it.  Fair enough.  He's looking for detergent and I pick out a white paint according to his instructions.  The guy puts it in the machine which whips it around violently.   My dad asks him if he does that often and the gent confirms, laconically.  



Back home, pop explains that he wants me to clean off the sills before he paints them.  Put this cleaning powder into the bucket.  Fill the rest with hot water.  Use gloves or it will irritate your hands. Later, after he's gone, I mop down one and then another sill just like he told me. It's hot out here and what's more it's humid.  By now I’m sweating profusely and am ready to head back in.  Unwittingly I turn and knock the bucket over and the soap and water settle into the shrubs near the lawn.  He’d asked me to keep that soapy water till tomorrow.  At least I’d managed the sill cleaning.  



Monday 8/19/19

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