Sometimes Failure Can Be Success

Well, I whined, sniveled, wheedled, cajoled and even begged, but Greg White was being stubborn and wouldn’t come to Florida to fix our Splendide washer/dryer combo. So yesterday it was time to pull the unit out of its cabinet and to try to figure out why it was leaking.

RV manufacturers don’t make it easy to work on things and it was a tight fit, but we managed to pull the machine out and balance it on our bedroom steps. (Yes, we. What you thought I did it by myself? Don’t be silly. I was just there to help with the heavy lifting and to be Terry’s go-fer.)

The leak seemed to be coming from the drain pump, and once it was off, Terry took it apart. There is a plastic or rubber gasket, which was covered in gunk, but seemed intact. We called Greg, who was willing to give lots of free advice as long as he didn’t have to disrupt his life, leave his family, and spend his own money to drive 900 miles from Texas to Florida to come and do the job himself. (Yeah, he’s selfish, but I still put up with him.)

On Greg’s advice, after cleaning everything up and treating the gasket with 303 Protectant, we put the pump back together, reinstalled it, and gave it a test run. Darn, still leaking! So Monday I’ll make some calls and see if we can find a replacement gasket or another pump. Since a gasket kit is under $20 and a pump is about $125, we’ll try the gasket first if we can find one. I doubt we’ll be able to find one locally, so I’ll have it sent to the Orlando Thousand Trails Preserve, since we’re due to move back there Wednesday morning.

So, how can failure be success? Well, I was helping Miss Terry tear things apart and put them back together again, the heavy Splendide is back in the cabinet, and nobody lost any body parts, no blood was shed, and we’re still married! I’ll take my victories where I can find them.

By the time we got the machine put back in its cabinet and things cleaned up it was 9:30 PM and we had not had anything to eat all day. Terry made bacon and eggs for dinner, since it was quick and easy, and because sometimes breakfast makes the best dinner.

I’m not sure what’s on the agenda today, probably a trip to the campground’s laundry, since we couldn’t fix the washer/dryer. Then I may have to take Terry out for dinner, as hard as she’s been working.

Be sure to check out my new self-publishing blog post. Today’s interview is with bestselling author Russell Blake, who is one of the superstars of the Indie publishing world, and a darned nice guy too.

Thought For The Day – If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

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