Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Hick Advises From Afar

Hick called the next day to talk me off the ledge. I was a bit upset over single-handedly being responsible for the impending death of Poolio. Since I couldn't move the lever or find an OFF button, I was relegating to watching Poolio gurgle his last breath as his filter clogged before Hick returned. Thank goodness Hick called on the landline while I was in the house. So I didn't get disconnected. Which is not to say the call was a success...
 
"I just don't know what to do. I can't move the lever."
 
"It looks like it's in the right place, in the picture you sent."
 
"So I'm already backwashing?"

"No. It's in the place it's supposed to be. Where I left it."

"But the lever is at BACKWASH."

 
"The LEVER. You need that little thing on the other side to be at backwash."

"WHAT? That nub?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I can't get the lever to move."

"You have to push down on it until the nub lifts out and you can turn it."

"I know how a nub works. I can't lift it up."

"All you do is turn off the pump and push down on the handle and it will turn."

"WAIT! I have to TURN OFF the pump first!"

"Yeah. That's how it works. It won't turn unless the pump is off."

"You might have told me that to start with."

"The Pony knew. He said he knew how to do it."

"He never once told me to turn it off!"

"That's all you need to do. It will be okay until I get back. Just turn off the pump."

"How am I going to do THAT? There's no switch. And no breaker."

"There's a switch, Val. It's a toggle switch on the back of the pump."

"The BACK? It's ROUND. I've looked all around it, and can't find it."

"Not that part. The PUMP."

"It IS the pump! The black thing I'm trying to move the lever on is the pool pump."

"No. The pump is the long thing on the left."

"How was I supposed to know THAT?"

"Everybody knows what a pump looks like!"

"Not everybody!"

"Just turn off the switch on the back of the pump. You won't have to worry about it."

"I said I can't find it!"

"Then unplug it."

"NO! I don't want to get electrocuted!"

"You won't get electrocuted. Just use two hands and pull out the plug."

"There's black electrical tape on it. No. I'm not doing that."

"Then look for the switch on the back of the pump."

 
"Okay. The BACK? You mean on the pool side?"

"No. On the back."

"The pool side IS the back. As I'm standing here looking at it. Tell me: Is it on the pool side, the house side, the neighbor side, or the chicken pen side?"

"It's on the BACK!"

"Stop it! Tell me which side!"

"Right in front of you. If you kneel down, you'll see the switch!"

"KNEEL DOWN? That won't happen."

"Put your hand down on the back of the pump, and you'll feel the toggle switch!"

"The BACK? Which SIDE? By the pool? Or by the house?"

"By the house! The BACK!"

What in the Not-Heaven??? I was trapped in a Who's On First routine! I told Hick I would deal with it later. When I got back from town, I went out the basement door and stuck my phone down by the FRONT of the pump, and took a picture:

 
After viewing the pic, I reached down, felt the switch, and turned it OFF. That's the picture I provided. Not the original, blurry from the humidity on the lens, that showed me the switch location. What an awkward place to put a switch! Where you can't see it unless you stand on your head. Although The Pony, when consulted, said that most people probably have their pump mounted higher than ankle level.

In addition, The Pony feigned ignorance of the "turning off the pump before moving the lever" issue. But he was quick to admonish me, when viewing my pictures from Poolio-side:

"Mom. You can see right there on the lever! It says 'DO NOT CHANGE POSITION WITH PUMP ON.' So it's really your fault. Not mine or Dad's."

The Pony needs to realize who waits on him hand and broken foot...
 
 
Anyhoo... Poolio didn't get a backwash. He's just sitting stagnant until Hick returns.

6 comments:

  1. That sounds just like the conversation I had with my husband this morning. Three years ago I had cancer and have been going to the big hospital on Kingshighway for dr visits, tests, etc. He always asks if he turns at the children's hospital. Every darn time. I always say no look at the animals and watch how the curb comes out as he thinks he needs to get over then. Every. Time. Tomorrow we get to have the same talk as to which building to go to off of 55. He gets the answer the one that has cancer written on it because I'm seeing the oncologist. Now I'm perfectly capable of driving myself but he has to make sure he hears the report straight from the dr. Yep almost 38 years of this happiness. Lol

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    1. The good part is that he is looking out for you and wants to hear the doctor report. The bad part is enduring the same exact routine concerning the driving directions! I hope at least he's not a SWEAVER when he drives!

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  2. Front Back, scroll up, scroll down. Reminds me of "Cool Hand Luke", "What we have here, is a failure to communicate!"

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    1. If Hick had been back home telling me that, I might have been tempted to throw a kitchen towel over his head and pretend he wasn't there!

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  3. Bad Pony. It is NOT your fault. THEY are the ones who use the pool, not you, so you can't be expected to know the workings of it all. But now that you do, you can point the finger and say I told you so the next time they stuff it up.

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    1. Thanks for the VALidation! Why should I be expected to READ what's written on that lever, when I have two "experts" to tell me what to do?

      It's hard to get in a good "I told you so" because they gang up on me! They don't have much to say to each other UNTIL they can join forces against me!

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