Excerpts from Conversations with Electricians

Electrician: These ceilings are pretty tall. What are they, maybe ten or eleven feet?

Me: Something like that.

Electrician: Thus the step-ladder in the kitchen, eh?

Me: Natch.

Electrician: [:: looks at the foyer ceiling ::] What about the smoke detector? Can you reach it, even with that ladder? What are you, five foot nothing?

Me: Five foot five, thank you. And the answer to your question is, “Sort of.”

Electrician: Sort of?

Me: Sort of. In fact, just the other day the battery began to die, and I h