“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.”
Those are the proper words I should have used the other morning.
Instead, the vocabulary was that of my days in the U.S. Navy.
It had rained in Albert Lea just about every day since the first part of May. Most days were less than inches. We got 3-plus inches one day and then 4-plus inches two days later. ‘Twas then the swabbie language echoed through our house.
We have a stationary bicycle plus a treadmill in the basement. When the weather is nice, we walk outside. When the weather isn’t nice, Genie walks the treadmill and I ride the exercise bike 25 miles most mornings before breakfast.
The morning after the 4+ inches of rain, I head for the 25-mile ride on the exercise bike. The first step at the end of the stairs is “slosh-slosh” followed by swabbie language. After Genie comes running to see what I’m doing, I settle down. She decides what we must toss and what to try to save. I get out the Wet Vac, towels, fans, and dehumidifier and go to work. Genie goes to the Dollar Tree store in Albert Lea and buys six ‘Moisture Eliminator” containers that take out tough odors and traps excess moisture for a dollar each.
After five days the basement is back in order, I’m riding the exercise bike, and my U.S. Navy language is once again a thing of the past.
During all this wet weather there were two kinds of basements in Albert Lea. Some were dry and some were wet!
You know Clint Eastwood’s most famous saying: “Go ahead and make my day.” If you want to experience this, stop where you see the Floors 4-U van and check out the two questionable workers. (One is from Geneva, the other from Ellendale.) Just ask them if they know what they are doing. I stopped to ask while they were in the new library location in New Richland. Their answer was very questionable, but they did know they would be done before Farm & City Days in this weekend.
How do you know when you’re retired? When it takes all day to do a 10-minute job, and even then you might run out of time.
New Richland Police Chief Scott Eads is one sharp officer. He recommended, and the City Council approved, hiring Adam McKane as a new officer. How do I know the chief is one sharp officer? Because I have watched Adam McKane go from a young boy mowing our lawn and delivering the newspaper to a young man proudly wearing a police uniform.
Conrad Faugstad, AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, was my mentor and guru when I first started. Conrad taught me patience, and it will always work out. As of June 26, 2013 Conrad is now in that Mansion of Many Rooms with a room just for him. Conrad, thanks for all your help.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.