Re: How Do You Keep Your Wife In Line?

On Wed, 03 Aug 2005 14:57:59 GMT, TheAlligator@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(TheAlligator) wrote:

>She's a professional photographer and did a wonderful portfolio of my
>daughter and one of her friends a while back and won't accept a penny
>in return for it. So why won't she just gracefully accept this as a
>gift and a thank you? Who knows? Kids! My wife sent her, initially
>a gift card to a store she likes to shop at, and the first thing she
>wrote to me was that she was going to use it to buy blank DVD's for
>me. She said "what kind should I get?" I wrote back "I don't know -
>shut up already". Her husband used to be a pro baseball player, now
>he is a high school teacher and coach, and she's trying to get this
>business going. This is exactly where we were 25 years ago, and I
>know they're struggling. Why won't people just shut up and accept a
>simple gift that really doesn't cost anything but time?
>
Ahhhh, but sometimes the giving of one's time is the most priceless
gift of all, Alligator.

Priceless ... to both the giver and the receiver.

It's like last weekend. The wife and I stopped in to visit some older
friends. They'd been friends and card playing/fishing buddies with my
wife's parents for many years. And while my wife's parents are now
both deceased, we'd remained in contact with this couple, routinely
visiting them, exchanging holiday and get well cards, so forth and so
on.

Just so happened that on this visit we found that they were having a
little problem. Hot water heater was on the fritz. It'd broke down a
couple days before. And they'd had out a plumber to fix it. It
worked for 2 days. Then rolled over and played dead cockroach on em,
again.

Certainly the repair made by the plumber was warrantied. Problem
being that it was now the weekend. And said plumber was not at home
answering service calls. Probably out fishing if he had any common
sense whatsoever.

If they called another plumber, it'd be a new bill to pay.

They just mentioned this, weren't asking for help. Just apologized
that if we needed to wash up or anything, beware, they only had cold
water.

So I decided to take a look and do a little trouble shooting. No big
deal. New pilot and thermocouple installed by the plumber was faulty.
Probably due to a factory defect. Thermocouple only produced a weak
and intermittant signal to open gas valve. I left the wife there and
hopped into the vehicle, buzzed down to a home town hardware store.
Bought a new device, returned and installed it. Problem fixed. And
explained to the couple that plumber hadn't been a hack. He'd done
everything right. It's just sometimes there are parts defective right
from the factory. New pilot/thermocouple was only $15. Maybe when
plumber got home from fishing or whatever, they could contact him and
let him know. I was pretty sure he'd reimburse em for the $15.

They're long retired. Income adequate to be comfortable. So $15
wasn't any big deal for em. BUT, if they'd had to call in a different
plumber I'd estimate bill would've been around $150, at least. Figure
in that area a plumber isn't gonna show up at your door for less than
$100. Especially on a weekend. Another $150 would've made em go
"Ouch". They had the money, but would've had to cut back on something
else for a while.

Chuckle, both tried their damnedest to pay me for my time. I told em
to put their money where the sun doesn't shine. That's after we spent
some time playing the game where they offered money, I refused it, and
then they kept resorting to trying to stuff it in my pocket while
walking by, or shove it into my wife's purse which she left laying on
a table, etc.

The money was meaningless to me. It's not as if I'm wealthy or
anything. But no amount of money would compensate for the friendship
we have with this couple. Nor would it replace or take place of the
things they do for us, and others, time to time. Without being asked.
They just do it.

ie In a recent storm I mentioned in another post which swept thru that
area. With fierce shear winds that downed literally thousands of
trees, tore off roofs, destroyed some structures, and so forth. This
couple, knowing wife and I did not know of the storm, having not been
at our lake cabin, went over to our place and checked it over. The
hubby found that one of my bats which I'd left in the water tied to
the dock was so filled with water that it was nearly sunk. He
dewatered the boat. They have keys to our place. And an open
invitation to use whatever they need. They went inside, found where
window had leaked. The rain had been horrendous. Driven horizontal
by 100 mph plus winds. It'd seeped into any and all cracks and
crevices. Had fallen at the rate of many inches per hour. They'd
thrown open windows to air cabin, mopped floors, hung out throw rugs
to dry, and so forth.

Then proceeded to go find anyone else who needed their help.

The friendship and acquaintance of such people ... is priceless. To
me, anyway.

GOOD friends ... are worth more than any amount of money. IMHO. It's
much easier to make money than to find GOOD friends.

I think you're a lucky man, Alligator. Despite your illness. How
much money would it take to replace this gal you mention in your and
your family's life? How much money would it take to make you feel as
good as you feel when doing something for her, in return, as a kind of
"Thank you"?

I think you know the answer to that.

Money comes, and money goes. And is forgotten next week. Yah can
barely remember what yah bought with it or where it went. But one
remembers favors done for you, and favors one does for others a long,
long time. And it feels good to help others.

My best to you and yours,

Bob

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