So Tammy calls me from the laundry room Friday evening. "Doug, I hear water pouring on the floor in the pump room."

I had just settled in on the couch, after spending six hours out in the heat at Camp Siloam watering trees. (That might sound like a cushy job but standing out in the sun and heat for extended periods of time is not conducive to staying hydrated, much less staying cool. I was drinking gallons of water and still couldn't stay ahead. And I had been reduced to taking impromptu "showers" to stay cool.)

So I was just about to relax, and then life interfered.

I opened up the enclosure that houses our hot water heater, holding tank and chlorine injector. Sure enough, a small plastic tube inside the injector had decided to spring a leak and was indeed pouring a small stream of water onto the floor.

I sighed. I really didn't want to spend half an hour arguing with an injector. But this, like many of life's problems, wasn't one that could be ignored or put off until another day. This was a problem that had to be fixed NOW.

Now I've been here before. Which is why I had a spare tube. (I buy them by the gross.) So I began the dance that is required to replace the tube. I had Tammy open up all the faucets in the house, which kicks on the pump and the injector. Then, while the injector was engaged, I removed the old tube and replaced it with the new one, which is a delicate process, in that it requires "feeding" the new tube into a press that can squash your fingers if you're not careful.

Except there's still water dripping on the floor.

I examined the feedline with a flashlight and discovered that not only was the tube leaking, but there was a pinhole in the feedline too. So now I have to cut the feedline above the leak and then reattach it to the injector.

Half an hour later I'm finally done. All the leaks are stopped, and I'm back on the couch.

And life is like that.

It would be nice if there were never any problems. Never any need to take care of an issue that demands immediate attention. Never a phone call that prompts us to leave our homes in the middle of the night to sit at the bedside of a loved one. Never a situation that is so urgent that we have no choice but to promptly engage it.

The Boy Scouts have a motto: "Be prepared." I'm thinking that's a good idea. Life often requires us to act quickly. Being prepared to do so might save us a little grief in the long run.

-- Doug Chastain is a retired teacher and is currently a large-vehicle transportation specialist for the Siloam Springs School District. (Okay, he drives a bus.) He is also a grass maintenance technician at Camp Siloam. (Yeah, he mows the lawn.) You can contact him at [email protected] The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Print Headline: Life often springs a leak

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