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"Well now," Arthur said. "We
got
a break, Mr. and Mrs. Burlington were hoping we would be early, they
have
to go into town on some business that will take up most of their day.
I
assured them that wouldn't be a problem since I had already drawn up
the
plans that we would need to make the installations and re-wiring."
"Re-wiring, Mr. Quillen?" Travis asked, looking a little confused.
"Yeah, we've got to remove the old wiring and replace it with a higher
gauge
since the dryer and hot-water heater we are installing take a 220
current.
The washing machine is on 110 but that's no problem. I tried to
talk
Burlington into upgrading to 220 and install circuit breakers but, he
used
the same excuse lots of people use, they like fuses."
"Let the house burn down, and they will wish they did upgrade," Travis
grumbled
good-naturedly.
"That's their problem son, not ours...so, Devon you stick with Travis,
and
lets get to work."
It only took the unloading of the water-heater and the other machines,
and
Travis and I knew it was going to be a hot day. We had brought a
dolly
with us to help with the unloading but, the sandy ground made it almost
impossible
to use. The wheels even though ballon tires would sink into the sand,
and
pulling and pushing was worse than carrying them. By the time we got
them to where they would be installed, a blazing sun was high in an
almost
clear blue sky and sweat was pouring off of both of us. My
pullover shirt and the top of my pants were soaked with
the sweat running down my back, ribs and chest.I felt it running down
the crack of my
ass, and from my armpit over my ribs. Travis was in the same condition,
his
golden blond hair was darkened by sweat, and his pullover and pants
were
just as soaked as mine.
While Travis and I were unloading the truck, Arthur had crawled under
the house, and we could hear him cursing about floor
spacers and not enough room for conduit piping or any number of things.
Travis was breaking down the cardboard boxes and wrapping, and I
was stacking
it in the back of the truck to be taken back with us when we heard
Arthur
shout, "Jesus Christ, Travis, come here."
"What's the matter, Mr. Quillen," he called out as we went to where
Arthur
was standing, shaking his head.
"What's the matter you ask," he growled almost menacingly. "Was the
carton
damaged when you removed it from the dryer?"
"No, Sir, I don't think it was, in fact, I'm sure it was not."
"It had to be, Travis or the corner of the dryer wouldn't be damaged."
Travis and I both looked where Arthur was pointing, and there was
damage
where he indicated. Travis looked at me, and then said, "I'm sorry,
Sir,
I didn't see it."
"How about you, Devon, didn't you see the damage?"
"No, Sir, I didn't, and if you check the cartons, I bet none of them
are
damaged," I said, anger rising in the tone of my voice at the both of
us
being unjustly accused.
For a moment, Arthur's eyes blazed, and I braced myself for the rage
that
would follow. In the past he had gotten angry whenever I had
bucked
his authority and I was sure he was going to accuse me of what he
considered to be
impudence. He surprised me when inhaling and exhaling explosively, he
exclaimed, "Aw shit,
what's the difference, we have to replace it with another from the
warehouse."
Travis looked at me before very tentatively, he said, "It could have
been
hidden shipper damage, Mr. Quillen. We have received dryers and
washers
like that in the past. The manufacturer will damage an item while it's
in
production, and rather then repair it they bolt it to a wooden skid and
then
cover it with an undamaged carton."
We saw that Arthur was thinking, and glancing at each other we moved
into
the shade of the porch. After a few minutes, Arthur said, "you're
probably
right, Travis. I'll have to check with Dad, and see where we stand
with General Electric. In the meantime, you and Devon will have to take
the damaged one
back to the store and bring back a new one. Be sure and take the carton
off
to make sure it's not damaged, and then wrap it in the furniture
blankets that we
use for refrigerators and be sure it is tied tightly for the trip
back.."
"Do you want us to go now or help you with the wiring first?" Travis
asked.
"Hmmmm," Arthur said as he drank a large glass of the ice water we had
brought
with us. "I hadn't thought of that, Travis. I tell you what, you guys
can
help me run the cable from the outside panel to the inside fuse box.
You
can hookup it up to the outside electrical panel and then slide it
under the house to me. I can feed it through the floor spacers and up
through the floor conduit piping to Devon and he can pull it into the
pantry closet in the kitchen.
After that is done, I can install the fuse box and finish most of
the wiring while you two are gone."
In his usual exuberant self, Travis said, "Hey, that sounds like a plan
to me."
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After finishing and double checking the two-twenty wiring, Travis and I
loaded the damaged dryer into the back of the truck and tied it
down. We checked with Arthur to see if there was anything else
that might be needed. He admonished us to be careful and check
the new dryer closely. We left the lunch he had brought with him,
and taking ours we started the return trip.
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TBC