The shower curtain rod that kept sliding down
A shower curtain rod is the kind of job a person could maybe do herself, if the day was better and the house did not feel so quiet. A woman I knew called because it kept sliding down. She said it was silly to ask. I said silly is when you ignore a thing for six weeks and then get mad at the wall. I could come by for a personal visit,, no big truck needed.
There was slick tile, wet curtain, her tired of watching it creep. She kept apologizing and then standing close enough to see what I was doing. I thought she was nervous about the repair. Looking back, maybe she was lonely, but at the time I was focused on the rubber ends because hardware is where I understand feelings better.
I got down low and checked the fit. First try was not honest, so I backed it out and lined it up again. She asked if I needed both hands. I said yes, eventually, but the trick is steady pressure first. That is TRUE for a lot of household problems, but I meant this one.
When it finally held FIRM, she smiled like I had done more than I did. I told her not to force it if it started acting up again. She said she liked that I took my time. I said rushing makes holes worse. Then I wrote SHOWER CURTAIN ROD - PRESSURE NEEDS CLEAN DRY CONTACT in my notebook.
Job was simple, mostly. Still, some simple jobs make people breathe easier when a man comes over, gets low, and leaves things lined up,, which I always considered customer service and not a mystery.
Comments are turned off for now. I had a form here once and I do not know where the messages went,, which is not a system.