“Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
Walter made an executive
decision...the ranch should be as “green” as possible. So early in the Spring,
Walter ordered solar panels for their house, along with the wiring, storage
batteries and other accoutrements that were required to make their ranchhouse
energy efficient.
Before Walter set up his ladder to climb onto the roof, Alex suggested Walter
hire an expert to install the panels. Alex received a resounding “Shut up!”
as his response to that suggestion. Three weeks, a trip to the medical center
and a few days of muscle relaxants later, Walter was ready for his next project.
Walter waved goodbye as the truck that delivered their new cistern (and the
pipes) drove away. Their area of Montana had decent yearly rainfall but every
once in a while they would go through a drought. Sometimes the drought triggered
wildfires. Walter saw no reason why he couldn’t put in a large cistern to
collect the rainwater. At the very least the water could be used for their
horses and the chickens. With proper treatment, he and Alex could use the water
as well.
Alex, whose expertise lay with weapons, computers and electronic surveillance
equipment, knew better than to get involved with his partner’s project. He did,
however, make a computer search for local experts in the field of water
conservation and installers of cisterns; he presented the list to Walter. Walter
had two words for Alex’s helpful suggestions.
When a pipe burst, raining down about fifty gallons of water onto Walter’s head,
Alex waded through the dirt and mud to rescue his angry bear then he called the
first name on the list.
After several quiet project free weeks, Alex walked into the kitchen and found
his partner pouring over catalogs containing large stone barbecue pits. Walter’s
face was smiling with glee. Alex could almost see Walter’s pulse racing with
anticipation.
“I love barbecue. If we put it close enough to the kitchen door, we could
barbecue all winter long!” Walter said, very proud of himself to have come up
with the idea. “What do you think, Alex? Alex? Hey, Alex, where’d ya go?”
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