My Mind Was In the Gutter...

We have open "trough" gutters on our house. They are a real pain in the neck...have to be cleaned out twice a year...and neither Meg nor I do well on ladders. In the past, some of my ham friends have taken pity on me and cleaned them out. (Ham operators are used to climbing on roofs to install antennas!) This fall, the cold weather hit before we got all of the leaves raked or the gutters cleaned out. A week or two ago, a fellow knocked on the door, standing under icicles that hung from the clogged gutters in the aftermath of our 12 inch snowfall, and asked if I wanted a free estimate for a "maintenance free" gutter system. I figure I'm due for a new roof and gutters, so I accepted--just as a starting place, to get an idea what's out there and how much it can cost. The appointment was set for yesterday early-afternoon. *(System, once again, won't let me double-space, so look for the asterisk for paragraph breaks!!) *I've been through these in-house estmate deals before. You have to listen to their schpiel about how they are a reputable company with a superior product. Then, finally, they get down to the nitty-gritty about price...and it's always expensive. (Sears came--in the mid-90s--to give me an estimate on refacing the kitchen cabinets. Remember that my kitchen is small. The price was over $10k. I pretty much just laughed nervously at the guy. I could have a whole new kitchen for that much, even now!) *The salesman was personable and polite. I listened patiently to his litany for an hour; then he went out to measure. Then we had to play a little game about prices. THEN, he revealed his Gutter Shutter one-year guaranteed price: just over $5,800. The cost was obviously too high, but the real kicker was that he wanted a "down payment" of over $2,000 for work that wouldn't be completed until sometime in the spring. (There are constant reminders on the news about not paying for services before they are delivered. Even **I** know that!) *In the course of our conversation, "John" started calling a guy on one of those Nextel Direct Connect deals--like a walkie-talkie. (This is like the used car salesman saying he has to talk to his manager to see if he can cut a deal.) As he talked to the guy, in my earshot, suddenly, I could have some kind of discount, which brought the price down to $4k+. Then there was the "coupon" which brought it down another $500...and yet another discount. In short order the price was down to under $3k IF I BOUGHT THAT DAY. The down payment now was about $300...but he kept calling the guy on the walkie-talkie, even after I said "no" about a dozen times in a dozen polite ways. The guy on the other end of the phone was getting obnoxious. Finally, I said "The conversation is over." When John told him that, he said, "No, it's NOT over until she tells us what it will take to get her business." Excuse me?? I told John he would do well to turn off the phone. By this time, Meg was out of her bedroom and ready to call the police. John SEEMED to be embarrassed, saying "I don't know why he is acting this way"...but he never shut off the phone. As John was packing up to leave, the guy on the other end of the phone was still blabbering on about how I would fall off a ladder and kill myself in the process of cleaning out gutters. By this time, I was no longer listening. *I am convinced that Gutter Shutter has a nice product, but after doing extensive Internet research, I am also convinced that there is no such thing as "maintenance free" gutter systems. Gutter Shutter sales tactics had many poor reviews...although their product didn't. Needless to say, I was somewhat shaken by that whole deal. I've had high-pressure sales pitches before, but never had one quite that obnoxious! I look for them to call this week. Many of the reviews I read on the Web indicated that someone called back later. I won't be taking that call! *Meg and I have had several conversations about how things "should" be when I retire. I'm trying to think ahead. Typically, the first couple of weeks of summer break contain an emotional "let down". It isn't depression--just sudden absence of stress. Some summers, without a plan, I've floundered the whole season, then kicked myself because none of the things on my to-do list got done. It's all schedule-driven. Hurry, hurry because there is an end to the available time. This year, there will be no end...until I die. I hope everyone can be patient with me. It will be an adjustment! *We went out today to get Valentine things. Grandma Judy provided mailbox kits for the children....Valentine mailboxes, made out of foam. Meg decided, that since the kids will be in Muncie on the actual day, we should have Valentine Week...providing a little treat every day in their mailboxes, just for fun. I think they'll love it. *Today, Meg asked me what I have always wanted to do but hadn't. I was at a loss! I've had a pretty full life, all things considered...but I've never seen the Grand Canyon, and I've never seen the Statue of Liberty. I would like to take exploratory excursions just to take in local color in states that were a part of my heritage. But ya know...my biggest goal in life was to raise a happy family and be able to provide "them" with the roots that I never had. My divorce canned some of that, but buying this little bungalow in Plainfield and working my buns off for my daughter's well-being and happiness worked for me. If I were told that I would die in a month, I wouldn't have any regrets. I gave all I had to give. Still do. I can live with that!