Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Hey, Woody and Buzz, Come Fix My Roof!

Don't let the rain come down
My roof's got a hole in it and I might drown.
--Serendipity Singers, "Don't Let the Rain Come Down"

Sometimes, a forty-one year old man can fool himself into thinking he is still a kid. It doesn't last for long, but there are those moments: the first day of vacation, an unexpected bout of inclement weather that keeps him from work, an exceptional ice cream cone on a hot day. These moments are quite valued, even by the most cynical and serious among us. Even a dour old coot like Ebeneezer Scrooge had a little bit of the child hidden deep within his Grinchy heart (an oddly mixed, seasonally inappropriate analogy, but, like a petulant six year old, I don't care).

Yesterday, Monkey and I went to see Toy Story 3 (2d). It was a wonderful, sentimental, exciting story, as you might expect. Disney's involvement notwithstanding, I enjoyed the film, and was even, perhaps, a bit touched by the picture's more maudlin moments. Afterward, we walked a few blocks to a favorite ice cream shop (where Monkey is apparently a Facebook celebrity (or nuisance...I couldn't exactly tell)), and spent an exquisite ten minutes sitting on a bench in the Haymarket, eating Peanut Butter Marshmallow and Pumpkin Praline sugar cones. The day was rather pleasant temperature-wise, which made the sitting outside all the more enjoyable, and, even on break, the sense of decadence brought about by a movie and an ice cream cone enjoyed on a Tuesday afternoon is undeniable and awesome.

But, days like today conspire to remind one that thirteen was a long time ago, and real life is always just around the corner to smack him into adulthood. During a recent spat of late Spring/early Summer rain, it was made clear that our roof has lost its integrity. There are three obvious spots (all on the first floor) where water has gotten into the house. Two of those three spots are brownish water spots, which, given much more opportunity (i.e., more rain) might develop into actual into-the-living-room drippers. The problem of pooled water above our heads notwithstanding, I am glad that these spots did not actively leak into our house. It saved us some pandemonium. However, there is a spot on the kitchen that left a bit of splish-splash on the floor. And, I am grateful for that. It convinced Monkey and I that we shouldn't wait any longer. We contacted a roofer for an estimate today. (Yeah, I know, we waited a bit longer...well....)

This is when the adult world really sucks, of course. A roof is going to cost a lot of money. And Monkey and I were just congratulating ourselves on the fact that we had been doing such a good job of setting aside money to put in the savings account every month. This isn't exactly why we were socking cash away, but I am glad we have it when we need it.

Now, to protest the ensuing five figure price tag that I am anticipating, I am going to go eat a Popsicle and submerge my feet in a kiddy pool. Anybody wanna come over?

***Grammar Note:
The word "popsicle" is capitalized. It is a brand name of a kind of ice pop. In the same way that Band-Aid and Kleenex are brand names that have been adopted as the general name of the product that they refer to, so Popsicle. I did not know that.

4 comments:

AMVB said...

Hooray for young Reda! What better balance for all the heavy unglamorous adult stuff?

Your Tuesday movie and ice cream date sounds like it was great! I have this image, surely influenced by your previous post, of you and Monkey biking to the movie/ice cream date on a glorious summer day. I figure you didn't do that, or you'd have written about it, but it's a nice image regardless.

Ugh, the roof! I'm sorry to hear it. I realize that the following would likely make what is already a super expensive repair into a super duper expensive endeavor, but any thoughts about getting solar panels?

May kid Reda take adult Reda out to fly a kite very soon! Enjoy.

burptot

Anon AMVB

Unknown said...

Toy Story 3 is a good movie for kids; it’s very entertaining, and at the same time, it teaches them how to value their possessions. Anyway, it’s been two years. I hope your new roof is still in good condition. Roof inspection once in a while is a very efficient way to avoid these kinds of bad surprises. If you want to learn about roof inspections, you can visit this site:
http://www.affordableroofingflorida.com/locations/roofing-clearwater/

Unknown said...

Uh-oh! Drips and leaks shouldn’t be taken for granted. We wouldn’t know when the next high-intensity typhoon will come, so it’s best to stay prepared. Finding a trusted roofing company to aid you is a smart move to make, though you can always do checkups on your own to prevent small concerns from escalating to bigger ones. Prevention is always better than cure.

Karen Burgess

Eulalia Symonds@BarnHouseExteriors said...

Getting a new roof is always money well spent! It's important that you make a good choice on your roof to assure that it can serve you for a long time. Make it a point to keep it clean and give it the maintenance it deserves. This will save you from costly repairs.