Around 11:00 a.m. this morning, the valve on the outside faucet broke, and I couldn’t turn off the water. Uh-oh!
Fortunately, the hoses were still attached with closed nozzles at the ends, so there wasn’t a flood. I knew I had to call the plumber, though, and we have a good one. He’s worked on the plumbing in this house for decades and was a good friend to our late landlord. That’s the kind of person you want, someone who knows the place and all its quirks. I put in a phone call, and 40 minutes later, he arrived in a magnificent rolling wreck of a truck. [Note: a shot of the interior is here.] What’s good about this is that you know he’s all business: if he has a nice shiny one for recreation, at least he left it at home, so I don’t get the impression that I’m paying for it (even if I am)…
His name is Gilbert. He’s 69 years old, about 5′6″ tall, and it’s a wonder to see him work. He has every kind of wrench in the world and carries them all in the back of that truck, stuffed into old ammo boxes and the like. That plastic crate you see on the ground in the picture is something he calls his “little stool,” and he stands on it so he can reach over the side of the pickup bed. On the way in, he saw our Pontiac Vibe and said, “I used to have a Pontiac. It had a leak in the tank. Every night I would put a bucket underneath the tank to collect the gas, and in the morning I’d pour it back into the tank and then drive off to see my girlfriend.”
(Heh. I didn’t ask, but I assume he carried that bucket with him!)
Anyway, what amazes me the most is how his hands work. I’ve used plenty of pliers and wrenches in my day, so I understand these things, but the way he one-hands a pair of pliers to turn a fitting is nothing I’ve ever been able to do. He also attacked the outside faucet like a starving man eats a piece of birthday cake. I’ve never seen anything like it.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I recognize that truck.
Now, that is a truck with character!
A nice read to get my day started.
We need Many more Gilberts’ in the world John….guys who know what they are doing and can be trusted to do it without gouging and screwing people…..pure craftmanship in a strange way….but they get the job done and on their way….you are lucky to have such a source for those things – and as you said – the fact he knows the house and it’s “quirks” is PRICELESS!! And you just gotta love a guy whose vehicle looks just like that….and bet he knows where EVERY TOOL and O-Ring is inside as well! HA!
Steve
Thanks for all your comments! Did I mention that this guy is “retired’?
I guess you’ve hired him, eh Nan?
I’ll have to put the truck on FotoFeed after this post moves down the page…