Frolicing with FAUCETS

Last year's hit movie "Gravity"  was unbelievable if not extremely improbable. In it ,Sandra Bullock, (along with her helper, a dead ghost George Clooney) met insurmountable fiasco after fiasco. But successfully (while lost in space) made her way from an American space station, to a Russian space station, eventually ending up in a Chinese space station.  There she was able to understand some manuals she found, and blast her way back to planet earth, aboard their emergency evacuation spacecraft. 

Unbelievable?

An Amazing Feat?

Suspenseful?

Long and Drawn Out?

Improbable?

Fiasco Laden?

Last week Tim and I had our own "Gravity Drama"  unfold for us, starting with a small rip in the hose of our pull out faucet, and careening through space toward an unbelievable journey that was suspenseful (for us), had many improbable twists, was long and drawn out, fiasco laden, and in the end, an amazing feat of having water actually coming out of our faucet.


We felt that we had landed our spacecraft in some unnamed body of water, and clawed our way to the beach... and safety.

Only to whisper with our eyes toward Heaven:

thank you.

 

 

 

Below are the data entries from Starship Sieges:

 

dated May 7-June 8,  2014

 

!Warning!: Skip this section and go to the bottom unless you prefer to shake your head, roll your eyes, feel constipated, and laugh out loud all at once...

 

 

 

1. May 7:As Denise pulls out the kitchen faucet to rinse off a dish she notices a small split, with water spurting out. Denise ignores the split.

 

2. May 21: Denise discovers water standing under her sink. Denise ignores the water.

 

3. May 23:Denise takes everything out from under the sink and wipes up the water. Denise prays the problem will heal itself.

 

4. May 26 am: with water standing under the sink Denise mentions to Tim that the problem might be the small split in the pull out hose of the faucet.

 

5.Same day 2pm: Tim tapes hose (doesn't work)

 

6.3pm: Tim takes apart faucet, takes out hose, and he and Denise go to Lowes, Home Depot to look for a replacement hose. No one has the right size.

 

7. 5pm:Tim and Denise come home to search the internet for a replacement hose for their FRANKE sink and FRANKE faucet. (purchased 4 years ago) They can find no serial /part # anywhere on the sink or faucet, but order the FRANKE part that they find on the internet that looks right from New York Parts, for $50.

 

8. 7pm:Tim puts original hose with the leaks back into faucet and puts faucet back together to use until the part comes.

 

9.May 30: The new hose arrives in the mail. Tim takes faucet apart again, the new hose does not fit.

 

10. 8pm: same day Tim goes to Lowes and talks with Laveryl. She and Tim look for an adapter to fit the hose, can't find it. They research together online the sink bought there 4 years ago and find it. Laveryl says to call FRANKE and they will replace the hose. 

 

11. 9pm:Tim get home  and puts the old hose back together again in faucet this time with clamps and tape on it  

 

12. May 31 Saturday: Denise callsFRANKE customer service, closed til Monday

 

13. June 2 am:  Hello, FRANKE  customer service

Yes, I want to order a part to a pullout faucet we bought 4 years ago

What part?

Just the pull out hose,it is split

Sorry maamm we don't sell that part, if you send me the receipt from buying the sink we can send you a whole new faucet.

I can't just get the hose?

No Maam we don't sell parts here.

OK what do I send you?

Send me the original receipt and a note explaining that the hose is broken.

Ok i'll do it.

 

14. Same day 1pm-3pm Denise and Ruth look  in the sweltering storage area for the shoebox with 2009 receipts in it.  They find 2005,6,7,8,10,11,12,13 but no 2009.  

 

15 3pm: Denise on the phone with Laveryl from Lowes:

You talked with my husband yesterday about the FRANKE sink?

Sure I remember- did you get the part from them?

No, I can't find the original receipt. Does Lowes have a record of us buying that in 2009?

So sorry not unless you used your Lowes charge card.

No, I used a Visa card I think.

Sorry we can't help then

 

16.4pm Denise looks through both bank accounts online not remembering if it might have been the debit card. No, it was a charge card.

 

17. 530 pm Denise calls FRANKE customer service- closed til tomorrow

 

18. June 3 am: Hello FRANKE customer service

Yes I called yesterday abut a hose that is broken in our pull out faucet?

Yes, I remember you.

I can't find the receipt, can I just PAY for you to send me the hose?

Maamm that is what I was trying to tell you yesterday we don't sell parts here.

But the FRANKE sink we bought does have a pull out hose.

Yes but it was sold as a KIT (sink and faucet) we don't have the part.

Can I get the hose anywhere? (I am almost in tears)

No Maamm the part # does not exist.

Well what can I do if I can't find my receipt?

I will get in trouble if I give you a new faucet without a receipt my supervisor might fire me (she is almost in tears)

What if I can go through my old charge card records and find the charge for it?

Yes that would work but it just can't say the price it would have to say "sink"  on the charge line.

Ok I will look for it.

There is one other thing you could do

what is that?

You will hate me worse when I tell you

I don't hate you but I am not fond of FRANKE right now

You could buy a whole new faucet

A whole new faucet?

Yes

(long pause) Ok thanks for the advice

Have a nice day, is there anything else FRANKE can help you with?

Ummmm that's OK

 

19. same day 3pm Denise goes up to sweltering storage area again and FINDS charge card statement for 2009 but it says only LOWES on entry line.

 

20  Same day 4-6Tim gets approval to send back hose that was ordered for $50 after many back and forth emails with New York Parts.

 

21. Saturday June 7 DDAY we are sick of having a clamped hose sticking out of our faucet and vow to finish this TODAY

 

22.10 am (At Ace Hardware, Waxhaw) Hello we are looking for a reducer for this hose. (we had decided try to use the hose we ordered instead of sending it back)

well let me see if I can help you..... looking for 30 minutes with Tim.....

no sorry I don't seem to have a part that will fit. have you tried the plumbing store in Monroe

In Monore?

Yaaa, you know close to the mall

Ok yes we know that one. Thanks we will try it.

 

23.  11 am Leaving the store we decide to price faucets at the Lowes on the way.

 

24.12pm We find a faucet that will be Ok on sale for $75. Forget the plumbing store- who knows if they could help anyway. Lets just buy the whole darn faucet.

 

25. 12:01 At the cash register, the sale price does not come up. 

cashier: sorry this faucet is $89 

oh, there was a sign under it that it was on sale for $75.

Well, its not coming up- here (as she writes down the item #) can you go compare item numbers with the sale sign?

sure, why not?

 

26.12:30 pm back at the cash  register ( a guy standing off to the side says to Tim)

Excuse me but I think I was ahead of you

Oh we were just back checking a price, we have been here once before

but you left and now I am ahead of you

Ok that's fine,

Cashier (talking to us) is it the same item #?

Yes, we brought the sign with us, it is all the same

Guy in line: Hey I'm first

Cashier: Can you wait while I check out these people who were here once before?

Guy in line :No!

Cashier: (to us) ok take the sign to that other cashier over there who has no one in line and explain all this to him,

OK

 

27.  12:45 We pay for the new faucet

 

28. On the way home in the car someone cuts Tim off, he WANTS to honk, but I give him the stinkeye.

 

28. 1pm back at home. Tim installs new faucet, with NEW pull out hose -takes 2 hours

 

29 4pm Faucet works!  SPLASHDOWN! THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!  HOUSTON, WE DON'T HAVE  A PROBLEM ANYMORE!  APOLLO HAS NOTHING ON US!

 

30. While everything is out from under the sink I decide to paint  the inside of the cupboard.

 

31. Jun 8 am We send back the unused hose and hope for a refund.

 

31.June 8 pm: I paint he inside of this cupboard and decide all the other cupboards need to be painted on the inside......

 

32.THAT is a task for another day, week, month ,or year:)

 

 

If we lived in a perfect world,

 

if Adam and Eve hadn't eaten the fruit,

 

if all hoses magically fit all pipes,

 

none of the above would have happened. 

 

 

 

But we are here, on this earth, not in space, and not in Heaven,

 

so we persevere. 

 

 I am sure you have a similar story- of how your Jesus allowed you to struggle

 

with little things

 

that seemed HUGE

 

at the time.

 

 

Teaching you lesson after lesson

 

about how hoses don't always fit on an imperfect and flawed planet.. 

 

 

Patience and perseverance sometimes pay off...

 

Even if you are stuck on a Chinese Space Station:)

 

 

PS:  We buried that old split hose.

 

and then played TAPS.