I feel like I’m swimming straight up underwater
Desperately racing for airI’m racing for air
Dan Fogelberg
That’s a dark lyric from a dark song, I know, and it’s a damned gloomy way to open this post. Have no fear, all the important stuff here is fine. It’s just that the Fogelberg song kept playing in my head today as we tried to resolve and press past what happened Monday afternoon.
The damage from the fire was worse than anyone thought. When our mobile RV tech pulled the fridge from the wall today, it didn’t expose any more significant scars on the coach itself, but it revealed that the fire was hotter and had burrowed deeper into the back of the fridge than we knew before.
As I watched the tech dig through the charred wiring, I shuddered. That it wasn’t worse — and that we were able to put it out as quickly as we did — is nothing short of miraculous.
To my RVing friends, I’m begging you: Please carry fire extinguishers. Keep them handy. Know where they are without having to think about it. Make sure they work.
The plural is intentional. If the worst happens, you have a fighting chance to make your own miracle.
For us, the bottom line is that this refrigerator can’t responsibly be repaired. We have to replace it, and besides being obscenely expensive, a marketplace flooded with used RVs has made these fridges are as rare as an N95 mask in a redneck bar.
We have insurance. It’s a covered loss. We’re optimistic about the claim. But we still have to find one.
We found one.
It’s in Texas (or it will be by Monday, anyway). It’s along our route, too, at a dealer that’ll install it as soon as possible after both the refrigerator and Ernie arrive.
That means our plans have changed — again.
We’ll now leave Arkansas on Sunday. Our goal will be to run more than halfway to the new fridge, ending up at the dealer early Monday afternoon. And we have friends in the area. If all goes well, we may have seen the light at the end of this tunnel.
But even though everything seems to be coming together nicely now, with a new unit and all, you’ll excuse me for being frustrated that it didn’t go the way I’d hoped. I expected to be writing tonight about a repaired fridge, dammit. I’m impatient, though reasonable. I’m demanding, albeit rational in my demands.
My frustration doesn’t resemble Fogelberg’s desperation, certainly. Today’s setback, like the ones that preceded it, will fade. I know that. We’ll be fine.
By the way, we did get our broken microwave/convection oven replaced today. The new appliance, a whiz-bang KitchenAid, is simply magnificent — dare I say, sexy.
Oh, and although I vowed that I’d never own an absurdly over-priced ice chest, late this afternoon we drove to the local Ace Hardware and brought one home. We’re gonna need it.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath