They called me to a home to do a furnace repair about three weeks ago.
I’m used to going to people’s homes, but this was different.
I hadn’t even knocked on the door when I heard a voice tell me to come on in. I walked into the house and the man was apparently in another room. He told me to hang my hat on the wall and I should join him in the basement. All I saw was a horn hanging on the wall, and it already had a jacket on it. I heard some rattling coming from downstairs and I followed the sound to an open door. At the foot of the stairs stood an old man surrounded by furnace parts. I introduced myself as I walked down the stairs, wondering what had happened. I had to laugh when he shouted at me to hurry up. He had his hands full and needed the help of someone who knew what the heck they were doing. I hurried down the steps, nearly falling on my face, and rushed to help him. He thought he could fix the furnace on his own, but decided that he wasn’t able. I looked at the mess and asked what had made him think there was a problem with the furnace? He told me there was an odd sound coming from the basement and all he could think was that it was the furnace. I started picking up the pieces and going over them. I knew that until I put the furnace back together; I would not know if or how I had to repair it.