About 2pm the phone rang - it was the old woman next door - could I pop round and help her for a moment ( she's about 85 and there is 2 foot of snow outside )
Turns out her front door was sticking - not just a little - but she could no longer close it, and would I 'rub a bit of sandpaper on it'.
3 hours later - had the fucking thing off it's hinges twice - had to plane about 3mm off every side and re-set the lock and hinges - it was swollen and warped - and still not perfect.
"oh - I'd better tell my brother, he's a carpenter - he hung the door in the first place... it was always OK before - only been like this for a couple of years"
Trying to re-hang a door in the dark - with heavy snow falling and freezing hands and feet is not fun - to make it worse all the neighbours were watching from behind their windows... didn't even get a cup of tea - and she watched the whole of Midsomer Murders before checking I was OK.
8 comments:
It's a no-win situation. If you hadn't done it, you'd have felt like a complete cunt, plus she would have probably died in the night and you would have been haunted by thoughts oh "What if?" for the rest of your life.
On a more selfish level, by supporting a culture of helping the elderly, we are making our own futures slightly less scary.
it's not the first time - last year she got me to fix a broken fence panel in torrential rain.... I think she's actually trying to torture me.
Our neighbors are so sweet, they remove the snow from our driveway when it snows! They have a snow blower, but it's still really nice of them so I am baking cookies for them soon.
You deserve tea with Jesus, for sure. Isn't that what they do in heaven?
to be honest Carla - I've always doubted that he would be very good company... I'm hoping to go 'downstairs' - where they have fun.
Thought you didn't like central heating?
And pitchforks.
Don't forget about the pitchforks.....
You are a good neighbour. She is afflicted by the blind selfishness that afflicts so many old people I suspect it's a kind of age-related moral disability. Don't get me wrong: I have many old friends and they are great - but my mother in her extreme of disability was addicted to Midsomer Murders. And Jessica (which is far, far worse). And Bargain Hunt, and Ready, Steady, Cook. Believe me, there can be no hell worse than daytime television at full volume.
Of course, don't believe me! There are many worse hells and I am talking about trivia. But Midsomer Murders is quite bad on a Guardianista scale.
I could hear the theme tune wafting from her super-heated living room whilst my fingers trembled with cold and I tried to find the head of a screw in the dark.
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