A Cold Weekend

Southern Man woke Friday morning to a freezing-cold duplex; the heater had failed during the night and the central blower was industriously distributing twenty-degree garage air throughout the domicile. A message to the tenant service guy that morning went unanswered, but Southern Man got 'hold of him late Friday night. He promptly appeared, took a look, said it was a bad gas valve and he couldn't fix it right then, and promised to have a serviceman out on Saturday. Well, said serviceman appeared on Saturday, took a look, said it was a bad gas valve and he couldn't fix it right then, and promised he'd be back with the required parts early next week.

Then the tenant rep called offering to spring for a hotel until the heater was repaired! It was a nice gesture that Southern Man would have quickly accepted if he'd had the kids that weekend, but being kid-free at the time he negotiated for firewood instead. Thus, Southern Man now has a well-stocked woodpile and has enjoyed a near-constant fire for most of the weekend. Although the heat from four computers keeps the study fairly comfortable, the other upstairs bedrooms are pretty much uninhabitable without a heavy coat (it turns out that both upstairs bathroom heaters are also kaput). However, Southern Man must admit that the living-room futon pulled up close to the fireplace is not half bad at all and he has spent some very enjoyable hours there. The world would be a happier place if everyone spent more time in front of the fireplace.