Gratitude is the sign of noble souls ~ Aesop


Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving ~ Kahlil Gabran


Joy delights in joy ~ William Shakespeare


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Is there anything better than a hot shower? All that delicously hot water running down my skin, warming me all the way through, getting that chill out. And the hot air pumping through my house right now, taking the temperature in here up from 60 or below, where it's been since Friday, back up to a civilized 68. I am grateful to all those smart people who figured out indoor plumbing, and water heaters, and central heat and all that great stuff that makes living habitable, even in winter -- even in southern California. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for being in southern CA, I probably wouldn't even have been able to stay in my house all week-end, so hats off to warm, spring week-ends at the beginning of March! And to the plumbers who have restored the gas, so that I can have my hot water, and my heat again. Bravo!

Here's what happened: Friday, standing in the den, with the heat going full blast, I smelled gas. Now, I didn't actually smell the gas itself, because, as we all know, it is colorless and odorless. No, I smelled whatever it is that is now put with the gas so we can smell it when it's leaking all over your house. Which it was. So I called the gas company, and the smell got worse so I turned off the heat. And it still got worse, so I started opening all the doors and windows. So by the end of the afternoon, when the gas guy got here and determined that yes, indeed, there was a pretty humongous leak going on, got to turn the gas off, the house was already cold. I have a pretty loyal plumber, and he tried to get to me Saturday, but with the rain, and a job that turned out to be about 6 times what he expected, he didn't get here. I waved him off for Sunday, it's a day of rest, and then Monday he got hung up, so by the time he got here today, I was really glad to see him. And now I have my heat back, and my hot water, and I cooked my first meal on the stove since last week, and I am feeling so blessed and thankful.

I think of people who don't live where the leak can be fixed and the heat turned on again, who must battle the cold every day of their lives. Or people who get stuck in a winter climate and run out of fuel, either because they can't afford it, or the power gets shut down or whatever. People die that way. And people used to die because gas could be escaping and no one would know until the place blew up. So I am really grateful to whoever had the brilliant idea about making gas "smell", and to those poor souls who gave their lives until someone said, "this isn't right" and went ahead and did something about it. That guy saved my life.

1 comment:

  1. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this, but I'm glad you came out grateful in the end:) And yes, there's not much better than a nice hot shower!

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