Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

When considering the first day of a new year, I like country singer and great guitarist, Brad Paisley’s quote. It was written about New Year’s Eve and he said, “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one!”

            Ominous is not the best word to use when describing your first day of a new year, but it might be appropriate for the way my first day of 2024 began. I awakened to a wet bathroom floor. Not a good beginning!

            I cleaned up the puddle of water and found that underneath the bathroom vanity the cold water supply line was leaking and pretty badly. I figured I would just turn the valve off for that line and call a plumber the next day. Getting a plumber on New Year’s Day would be tough.

            The only problem was that the valve and line were so old, rust prevented me from turning off the valve. My next solution would be to put a bucket underneath the leak and wait until the next day to call a plumber. However, the leak was bad enough that the bucket was filling up too fast. I would have to call a plumbing business on this holiday. Oh my!

            Fortunately, as I “googled” the Bainbridge plumbing businesses, I found one that advertised 24-hour service any day. I called and, surprisingly, someone answered and said they could send someone out. But, since it was a holiday, the service call would be higher than a regular day. I understood and asked what the service call would be? She told me and, after swallowing hard, but realizing that I had no choice, I thought of a joke I had recently heard.

            A heart surgeon was giving a party for his colleagues and a plumbing problem occurred. He called a plumber and the plumber came out and it took only a few minutes to solve the problem. Then the plumber presented the surgeon with a $500 bill.

            The heart surgeon was surprised and said to the plumber, “I don’t get paid this much when I perform heart surgery.”

            The plumber replied, “Neither did I when I was a heart surgeon!”

            I will file my first day of the new year under the heading, “All’s well that ends well.” The plumber was very nice and knowledgeable and my problem was fixed within a few hours. And, although I wasn’t presented with a $500 bill, it was pretty close. Money well spent.

            As I wrote the check, I even remembered to date it 2024. In the old days, when we used checks, it took about a month to write the correct year.

            I wish I could say that a small plumbing problem would be my greatest challenge for 2024, but I don’t think that is the case. I’m no Nostradamus, but I know of at least one more situation that is going to be challenging.

            I mentioned a few weeks ago about my wrestling match with a dog and how I lost; falling on my shoulder. The doc says that it resulted in a significant tear in my right shoulder’s rotator cuff. He said I would need surgery and, besides, he had just bought his wife a new Mercedes and needed the work. I’m kidding!

            There have been many who have had the same kind of surgery and I have yet to hear anyone say that it was “easy-peasy.” Since I like using both of my arms, it’s sort of like a leaky supply line underneath a bathroom vanity. It’s got to be fixed.

            Looks like this year is going to be a doozy, if you know what I mean! Still, I wish you a Happy New Year.