In keeping with Murphy's Law, a few months ago while Lance was on a business trip, I awoke early on a Saturday morning to the sound of loud chirping. The chirping was coming from our hall smoke detector. I tried to silence the alarm by pushing the only button on the alarm I could find, but to no avail. I mounted a step stool and tried to release the battery, but the battery was stuck. I pulled and pulled on the battery all while listening to the tortuous chirping. Finally I wrested the battery free from it's enclosure but broke part of the housing off in the process. I quickly showered, dressed (of course) and made a quick trip to the store to buy a new battery because, of course, we didn't have the right kind of battery at home. I arrived home to find my children still sleeping all snug in their beds unaware of the loud noises coming from the hall. I climbed back on the step stool and inserted the battery into the broken housing. Voila! NO!!! The chirping continued.
With my nerves on edge and my anxiety level rising, the next logical step was to grab a baseball bat and beat the tar out of the smoke detector. I came to my senses just before I resorted to drastic measures and decided to call Todd Olson, a friend and owner of his own appliance repair business. Surely he could help me. Todd arrived just a few minutes later, and it was obvious by the grass on his boots that I had interrupted his weekend lawn-mowing exercise. He was gracious and said it was no bother to help me out. It took him about 5 seconds to disconnect the smoke alarm. By this time Mark and Zachary were awake and watched Todd do his magic. Mark quipped, "I could have done that." Yes, I could have done it, too, had I known the "repair" was that simple. Todd noted that the smoke alarm was defective and suggested we purchase a new one soon. He refused payment, but accepted the loads of gratitude we showered him with.
Fast forward to last weekend. I purchased a pack of 3 smoke detectors, and Lance attempted to install one in place of the broken one, but I had bought the wrong kind. He installed one in the kitchen, however, and my sense of security increased.
It didn't take long to test the effectiveness of the alarm. I broiled flank steak for dinner tonight, and each time I opened the oven, the alarm went off. It even went off after I had turned the stove fan on and opened both kitchen windows. The noise was deafening and caused Mark to lose his appetite. He retreated to the basement. Of course, there is a smoke alarm down there, too, just waiting for its chance to sound off!
2 comments:
Wow- that sounds like a disaster! Especially after all the work you went to in order to get it fixed. I don't know what in the world Mark was thinking in retreating to the basement when flank steak was being served... that's just about my favorite food!
Why should we not be surprised that all this fun action took place when the master was away on a hunting trip? Next time you have flank steak, call and see if I'm getting any dinner that night, would you??
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