Disaster Averted

On Sunday afternoon as we sat in the sunroom and listened to the thunderstorm outside, Julie suddenly said, "Something's dripping!" And we all looked up to see that the skylight was leaking--of all places, directly onto Sam's newly purchased, two-years-anticipated TV and array of components.

Thankfully, Julie had literally seen the first couple of drops. In a rarely seen move, Sam sprang into action; in a more frequently seen one, he began calling out orders and we all jumped to follow them. He moved the TV out of the way, and I brought a big blanket to put over it in case of splashes from more drops. A bucket was put under the drips, and Sam and Dr. B hurried outside, the rain having paused for a few moments. After their initial reconnaissance, Sam headed up to track the thunderstorms on his big computer, and returned to report that there was a 10-15 minute window before more rain would begin again. It was clear he was in a dilemma, and then Dr. B. suggested putting some plastic up over it. We didn't have a tarp, but I did have an extra shower curtain on hand, so Sam and Jason went up on the ladder to nail the shower curtain to the roof.

While they were outside, I expressed to Julie my hopes that Sam would not fall off the ladder in his eagerness to protect his television. She offered the consolation that at least Dr. B. could offer medical assistance, but then remarked that his speciality is, after all, obstetrics--and it was unlikely that a fall on Sam's part would have resulted in pregnancy. Thankfully, however, all went well. At least until we get the bill from the roofers to replace the skylights . . .