NOT JUST ANOTHER FRIDAY

     Have I mentioned that the deep tub sink in the shelter kitchen has a large leak at the hot-water faucet? It's been that way for at least a month, and the environmentalist in me has just gone nuts every time she's seen it!
     The office personnel told me there were no funds for a plumber; however, I reminded them that they had already paid for a plumber several times over, in expenses for water and the water heater's gas. Where are the brains in that place?
     Today… to my utter delight, an engineer friend came from his home more than an hour away, just to fix that faucet! After he thoroughly inspected the situation and turned off the water at the hot-water source (in the basement), we made forays to two hardware shops, seeking replacement washers. There was none to be found. The reasoning was that this commercial sink would need parts from a "commercial-sink" supplier. I found one of those, but it was in New Jersey…
     So my engineer friend (and this is why he can claim the title of Ph.D. engineer) chose some parts that could be substituted. We returned to the shelter, and he worked his magic with the parts we'd found. Then we needed to wait at least an hour for the "glue" to set, so we walked into town and had lunch… in the heat and the tourist-crowded center of town—uphill. Lunch was good.
     Returning felt like uphill as well.
     On second inspection, the sink faucet's new washer rig was working very well, so my friend and I left. As we exited through the foyer, the head honcho was keeping company with the plumber he'd hired to fix the water fountain that was ripped off the wall (months ago, you may recall).
     Earlier, and to my delight, I introduced my friend to Kevin. I'd given my friend some beach rocks to gift Kevin. Kevin delighted in the beach rocks, but could not accept them without a gift in kind. He forced upon us a zip-lock bag with a few rocks and sundry odd things (safety pin hooked to a short tube?, broken earring, dead sticks. He could not accept the beach rocks unless we accepted his collection. Typical Kevin. It was good to see him doing well. I asked about his broken arm, and he said they might have to break it again…
     Doug was making sack lunches when my friend and I arrived around 10 a.m., and he was plating dinners when we returned after shopping. We have so much catching up to do; I can't wait until Sunday!