Fix-It Dena

Curling up on the sofa with my grandchild, I opened the book, Fix-It Duck, for his bedtime story. Turning the pages, we chuckled over Duck running to fix his leaky roof that was causing water to plop into his teacup. Actually, it was his bathtub overflowing; he had left the faucet running.  Duck in need of a ladder asked Sheep. Sheep had a leaky skylight, which Duck said he could fix.  He ran for the ladder and placed the end of his ladder through Sheep’s skylight. Fix-It Duck, with all his good intentions, always made matters worse.  

My mind recalled a Fix-It Dena.  Armed with the Readers Digest Fix-It-Yourself Manual and craftsman tools, he could do any house repairs.  He, usually, was successful and he could handle most problems. Therefore, I was not surprised when a neighbor called asking for his help because his kitchen sink would not drain.  Fix-It Dena concluded that there was a blockage somewhere in the vent pipe.  The neighbor agreed.

    “Go up on the roof, put the garden hose down the vent pipe, and turn on the water.   The blockage will be blown clear by the weight of the water.”

    “Sounds like a plan,” the neighbor replied.

    The neighbor went up on the roof with the hose.   Fix-It Dena turned on the outside spigot, water entered the vent, and then he went into the kitchen to yell when the sink was draining.  

The water ran through the hose and built up a force in the vent due to the height of the roof, thirty feet.  When it reached the blockage, the water did not push immediately but instead backed up in the vent pipe gaining more weight and force. Whoosh!  Finally, the blockage gave, and the pressure caused dirty water to explode out the kitchen sink with such force it splattered the walls, the cathedral ceiling, the cabinets, the ceiling fan, oh, and Fix-It Dena.  It found its way to the basement and exploded into the washing machine and finally, breaking a pipe, it sprayed the storage shelves and the walls.  Not to be left out, the toilets exploded their contents and every sink and drain in the house.

“Well, it worked. The kitchen drain is no longer blocked,” said Fix-It Dena.