Sunday, November 07, 2010

Please, Mr. Heater Man, come and turn it on again!

The air grew cold on Thursday night,
So Friday, when I rose,
My fingertips wore icicles,
And frost was on my nose.

The heater blasted out cold air.
I shivered in the chill
And knew I'd have to call for help,
No matter what the bill.

I called the AC/heater man,
And he arrived by ten.
He needed parts he didn't have,
So left and came again.

At two he came the second time
And climbed the attic stairs.
He tried this thing and then tried that
And maybe whispered prayers.

It seemed that nothing he tried worked.
The pilot light ignited
But cut itself back off again
Before the furnace lighted.

He called this job "the devil" but
Would not accept defeat.
He fiddled with a grounding wire
And finally got some heat.

He finished at four-thirty and,
As I was pleased to see,
He ate the hours he'd wasted
And did not charge them to me.

I settled on the sofa as
Warm air began to blow.
I felt all comfy, cozy,
Because then I didn't know

That four short hours later
It would all begin anew:
The heater fan was on full force,
But only cold air blew.

I'd wasted all day Friday with
The heater service man
And so decided not to have
Him come right out again.

Instead, I'd tough it out, I thought,
And get some errands run
And call him first thing Monday
After all my chores were done.

So extra blankets kept me warm
When weekend nights grew cold,
But frosty mornings let me know
My bones are getting old.

I turned the bathroom heater on,
The oven, then the dryer,
To try to raise the temperature
At least a little higher,

And here I stand on Sunday morn,
Ashamed of what I'm wearing,
But if you ever get this cold,
You'll thank me, then, for sharing.


12 comments:

  1. So what are Kadi and Butch wearing? I send my sincere sympathy to you. I hate being cold. Last year's ice storm almost did me in. A generator kept the refrig and a few appliances going, but there was no heat for 6 long days. I thought I was frozen from the inside out! Thawing out took a long time and lots of Starbucks hot Mocha :)

    Kybeadmaker

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  2. oh, my, you sure are wrapped up! I hope the heater guy can come early Monday. Make the dogs keep you warm!

    Great poem! You really have the poetry talent, that would have taken me days and days to write and even then I doubt it would be as good as yours!

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  3. Kybeadmaker, glad to see you here, Harriett. Butch and Kadi wanted no part of extra blankets piled up around their beds, nor of my shirts belted around their bodies. They stayed in their "birthday furs" and didn't seem to mind the cold air.

    Janet, I called at 7:30 this morning and was told they'd be out later in the day, that they already had another job scheduled for this morning. I hope they have better luck with that one. I appreciate your compliment about my poem, but here are my own thoughts on the subject:

    Poetry, it seems to me,
    Has dignity and grace
    And words that, strung together,
    Can uplift the human race
    Or, as you know (just think of Poe),
    Explore a darker place.

    The stuff I write is simply verse,
    There's not all that much to it.
    It could be better, could be worse;
    I'm sure that you could do it.
    The words I rhyme don't take much time,
    There's not much thought behind them,
    And RhymeZone.com helps me when
    I'm stuck and cannot find them.
    The rhythm isn't difficult, and
    Often one can tweak it,
    Though that can mess the whole thing up
    When someone tries to speak it.

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  4. I love love LOVE this! I try to keep my heater off for as long as possible into the season because layering like you have done is one of my favorite things to wear around the house. Until laundry day, of course. ;-)

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  5. Alison, thanks. I don't usually layer my clothing like this when I'm hanging around the house by myself, but I AM often just as ashamed of what I'm wearing. Sometimes I'm in my bathrobe past noon, and when I do get dressed, it's usually in some of my very oldest clothes. I just love how soft they feel.

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  6. I like verse better than "real poetry"! I just like rhymes. :-)

    Hope you have heat by now!

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  7. Great post! And as for your outfit? Any given day at my house! LOL!

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  8. Well this was pretty cute...you can write...

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  9. hope you've got heat by now!

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  10. Checking in... you probably have heat now, but likely haven't needed it in this warm, muggy weather.

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  11. So...how does the story end? Are you still alive?

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  12. Janet, I like rhymes, too. Maybe I was a rapper in a previous life.

    Holly, post pics of the outfits, please. I could use the moral support.

    4th Sister, thank you. Sure would like to hear more from you. Everything OK so far?

    Janet, Alison and Maria: I lived through the cold spell, then the outside temperature rose into the high 70s. Isn't that always the way it is?

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