I have made a momentous decision. I will no longer service my own swamp coolers. I have been doing it since I was 15 years old. Now that I am approaching 63 I will change my ways. I am now hiring professional swamp cooler servicemen to deal with the descaling, lubrication, pad cleaning, copper tube preparation, trips to the hardware store, and those million other little details that I have come to loathe about swamp coolers. Last year I replaced two old and rusted swamp coolers with new shiny ones that were not held together by corrosion. It was then that I realized I would never again subject myself to the Memorial day rigors of 'startup'. With all due respect to those who toil on with the annual time consuming chore I have only one thing to say. Life is too short.
However, I will still do the landscaping work during the summer. I can cut the grass in the front and back yard in 12 minutes. Bobbi handles the weed eater and we hire Gavino twice a year to do the heavy lifting in the autumn and spring. I watch over the tomatoes along with Bobbi and she goes out and tells the dwarf peach tree that it is loved. That little tree puts out a ton of peaches.
This is the kind of blog I like to write. It is more uplifting than talking about the sexual lives of congressional candidates.
P.S. I dedicate my blog today to Jim Belshaw of the Albuquerque Journal, AKA Dr. Swamp Cooler.
3 comments:
Just knowing that I can start-up my swamp cooler is enough for me. I, like you, am done doing it myself.
Last year I burned my kneecaps on the hot roof.
I am not doing that again!
Also, knowing what needs to be done ensures that I don't get ripped off while paying someone else to do it.
Yay! to no more swamp dust!
Jim, as a long time reader I've been tempted to leave a comment on a few of your political rants (generally in agreement with your position.)
However, this time I want to thank you for the photo of your new swamp cooler. I now have the same kind and was up on the roof earlier in the week (I've a few years still before I reach your 63) and couldn't figure out how to access the new-fangled pad... ended up just taking off the grill and vacuuming the crust off the front. From your photo I now see I can open the top of the unit. Amazing what one can learn from a liberal Democrat (hee, hee)
I wish I could have convinced my husband of that wisdom. Right before we moved away, we replaced a swamp cooler. But did he hire professionals to install it on the roof? No--he had three women in the house, who went on the roof and tugged on the canvas belt he'd tied to it, while he pushed from below. Somehow, we got it to the roof of our second story house and he installed it.
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