June 26 – Cascade

Retirement communities dangle the promise of freedom from maintenance worries. Maintenance was of no concern to me. What maintenance could we possibly need? Our apartment had been completely refurbished and had all new appliances.

Then one day our washing machine spun to a halt and the lid wouldn’t open. I called the front desk of our retirement community. Very soon, Rocky, from maintenance showed up. He got the washing machine open, but the machine would need a new part. It might take two weeks to arrive.

Rocky and Jessica, the head of housekeeping, confer. They give us a key to the vacant apartment across the hall. We can use the washer and dryer there until ours is repaired.

Then Rocky learns that the part is not available. He can install a new washer on Saturday.

No. Wait. I am having surgery on Friday. I don’t think I’ll feel like having people tromp through the apartment a day after surgery, even though the surgeon says I will soon feel fine. Rocky agrees to wait until Monday.

Monday I am still in pain and groggy, but here comes the brand new no-charge machine Rocky and his helper are out of here quickly.

Despite the doctor’s assurance, I do not feel “fine”. My day passes in a fog of discomfort as I try to stay somewhat upright and take brief walks. Bedtime at last. We go to bed.

At 11 pm, the phone rings, startling us awake. It is Dan, at the front desk. The apartment below us has water running from the shower light fixture. Of course, the washing machine is the main suspect. Tom gets up and inspects it. He inspects both bathrooms and under the kitchen sink. No leaks. Tom reports back to Dan. Dan says he will call Rocky at home to come to check things.

Soon Rocky shows up to check all our water sources for leaks. None found. He leaves and goes to apartments below and above us. Rocky returns to us. Checks everything here again.

Midnight. He and Tom confer in the living room. He has turned off the water somewhere, but somehow we still have water. He will return tomorrow.

I’ve given up on my quick recovery and stay in bed the following day. Rocky returns with Brandon, head of maintenance. They search our apartment and then the building. Finally, a leak in a water pipe between floors is found. Repair access is through our bathroom wall.

Someone comes to cut into our bathroom wall. A plumber arrives and repairs the leaky pipe. The next day a drywaller appears.

Next day a painter arrives. He paints the patched wall and leaves. And we are done.

What kind of maintenance could we possibly need? I had wondered. Well, we needed just about every kind.

And, as promised, the cascade of repairs was promptly handled by the maintenance department.

All pipes, both mechanical and human have now made a complete recovery.

Carol Newman is a former freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. As a writing teacher and coach, she founded Angel in Your Inkwell. Her blog is now silent, but she is not.  She hopes now to write (sometimes humorously and sometimes seriously) about being an ordinary elderly person. No weight lifting, no tango contests, no marathons. Carol lives in Leawood, Kansas with husband, Tom.