Because I'm Extra. Firemen it is!

     I had to call into work today and say I would be a couple of hours late. I actually let one of the managers know last night, but followed up with the hard, cold facts of it all this morning. When you're throwing a party and invite three of Oklahoma City's bravest to your home to check out your AC before it erupts into a full-blown fire hazard, you just don't have the strength or energy to show up to work on time - even if you work from home. It's just a fact.

    I was sleeping at 10:43 p.m., which is what I do at that time, when my daughter came into my room to tell me that the hallway ceiling was leaking. Earlier in the day, we didn't know that the water we saw on the floor in the hall was coming from the ceiling, and I spanked the dog, my dog, for peeing in the house. You can now tell me just how terrible I am. I know, and she knows, and she got the biggest apology for it, and I gave her ice cream. She's good. We're good.

    The ceiling in the hall was bulging and threatening to pop. Just like you see in the movies! I decided to NOT pop it, because you know the mess that would have been all over my floors. I, instead, called the Oklahoma City Fire department non-emergency line (which is the police line, and they transfer you) so they could come check it out and make sure we weren't asking for trouble. 

    So, around 11:05 p.m., three really handsome men, all built like the burliest of burls you've ever seen (two bald, one not the least bit bald) came pulling around the corner with sirens and lights - I didn't know they did that for non-emergencies. They came in and got straight to work. Turns out neither Laura nor I knew where the breaker box is in our house - we found it, and no, it's not in a normal place. Yes, these men laughed, but they were looking too!!

    They turned off the AC breaker and the unit, and then crawled into the attic access, which, by the way, is located in the main bathroom. See, I live in an extra house too! They crawled up there and found that the original unit, a 3-year-old unit, had not been installed properly. It was just a little off, and over time, with vibration and such, it moved a little from where the drain hole was and was collecting in the platform above the bathroom and hall. So nice.

    They wanted to know if I had a pie pan or some strong aluminum to bend into a makeshift drain assist, something that would hold until the AC guy could come to fix it permanently. I did. I had one, but I had to dump the pie into another pan. I asked, but they're not allowed (or supposed) to take food from people they don't know -- their parents would be proud. They said the pie looked amazing and appreciated the aroma of baby back ribs I had been cooking overnight in the crockpot. One of the men took a look!

    They fixed the problem, loved on the dogs, said their goodbyes, and I went to sleep with the AC being temporarily repaired. I hadn't really noticed that during the day, it had gone from 69 to 74 in the house, I should have noticed that.  They fixed it, and I slept well. The AC guy came by today too, but I'm not gonna lie, he couldn't hold a candle to any of the firemen...nope. He's a nice guy, but he's old enough to be my dad, I think. He was pretty old -- but very good at his job. 

    So, I sent photos to my boss of the firefighters at my house and the blaring red and blue lights outside my house. I told him I'll be sleeping in and not to expect me until 9:30 this morning. I will say, my dreams were rather nice -- rather nice indeed!  I love a good-looking cop, but give me a firefighter every time. 

Photo Credit: Me!!