Sump Pumps

Seems odd to me for a woman to write about sump pumps, but last night we had a bad storm with lots of thunder and rain. I think we had a little hail too. Our power went off for the sump pump which brought to mind 2 things I thought I’d jot down here. First, they are a pain in the neck, and they are somewhat stressful when owned by Dick and Kathy. Second,I have a funny story about my husband, Dick and the sump pump:

For those who are not familiar with sump pumps, they are designed to draw water, which accumulates around your home’s foundation to remove any pressure on the cement walls caused by the water raising up from the ground and going up the outside wall. If it is not removed, the walls will collapse inward and may cause costly repair later. The pump is run by electricity. There is a hole in the corner of the basement floor where the outside water is made to accumulate. The pump is placed in this pool of water so it can remove the water when it reaches a certain level. The pump is programmed to turn on and pump the water out of the house to a sewer or a ditch in the back yard. Normal people have either a battery backup for when the power goes out, or they own a generator to use in it’s place for the same reason. We are of course, not being normal people, do not own either a battery back up or a generator. At least once or twice a year we get a foot of clear rain water down the basement. Dick moans and groans how much work it is to clean the basement but never purchases a back up because he thinks the hose which drains the water away from the house is either clogged or too small of a diameter to drain the water quickly. This is his logic.

The next part of the sump pump article is about my Husband, Dick….. and someone elses sump pump. I love him dearly but I have lots of stories about his escapades. Maybe I will write a few more of his stories on my new blog.

One family Christmas in the 1970′s, our family decided to get all dressed up for Christmas dinner, even though it was being served down my Aunt Ann and Uncle Dick’s warm basement. Christmas’ at My Aunt Ann and Uncle Dick’s was a memory I never want to forget. We had it all decorated with red and green crêpe paper on the ceiling and all sorts of Christmas ornaments and family remembrances of days gone by drawn by us when we were children. The good dishes, wine glasses, and center pieces would be on the table. Candles would be lit. My cousin, Michael, would give his 2 Grandmothers’ a corsage every year. The whole house would permeate with smell of the delicious turkey roasting in the oven and we would be anxiously salivating for samples of the skin of the turkey as my Uncle carved beautiful browned bird. His stuffing was wonderful. It was my Grandmother “Maisie’s” recipe made with only onions, celery and chicken broth. Nothing elaborate.

Now dinner was over. I am the photographer of the family. I decided as long was we were dressed so nice we all should gather on the stairs for a group picture. My husband volunteered this time to take the picture so I could be in it. He never took a picture before. We all slowly got on the stairs sitting ever so nicely. Dick had the camera and kept fiddling with it and we were getting very impatient due to eating so much food and jokes were starting about how slow he was. Mind you wine and beer were also flowing by that time too. (not me of course, I usually stick to diet coke). It was taking forever. Finally he put his eye to the eye piece and kept slowly backing up and up and up and you guessed it, down he went into the hole in the floor where the sump pump was. We all gasped! Down he went. He immediately raised himself up with his leg soaking wet. He paused and then looked at us and said: “I fell in the sump pump!” Well after a pause, we all got hysterically laughing and that quote has been said now for over 30 years. He also broke the sump pump.