Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Gold Hill rallies to save IOOF Lodge ... Oregon charter fishing company accused of pocketing money for licenses ... The writing's on the wall ... Gold Hill rallies to save IOOF Lodge ... Oregon charter fishing company accused of pocketing money for licenses ... The writing's on the wall ... Lost in Suburbia: Row, row, row your basement Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM Posted Dec. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Social News By Tracy Beckerman More Content Now Whoever said “bad things happen in threes” clearly never lived in my house. In the span of 24 hours, my husband got food poisoning, the dog got sick and my daughter came down with mono. Confident our run of bad luck had come to an end, I turned to my husband and said, “Well, at least we still have a roof over our heads.” Then the ceiling caved in. “What do you mean the ceiling caved in?” boomed my husband over the phone from his business trip. “One of the pipes from the new upstairs washing machine got a leak,” I explained, staring at the large hole where my basement ceiling used to be. “The water built up under the floor, and then blammo … the basement ceiling caved in.” “You mean, the brand, new renovated basement with the new carpet and new furniture?” he asked. “Yes. That basement.” “Fan-tastic,” he sighed. Both of us were quiet as we had a moment of silence for our new, dearly departed basement. For me, it was about the loss of the furniture. For him, it was the pain of the insurance deductible. The worst part, of course, was that we had just, JUST completed a six-month house renovation. We hadn’t even had a day to enjoy the new basement yet when the pipe burst. It was the equivalent of baking a cake and then having the dog eat it before you get to have the first bite. Except instead of a cake, it was a basement, and instead of a dog, it was … A mouse. “What???” I asked the plumber incredulously. “A mouse ate through your water line,” he repeated. “That’s what caused the leak.” He bent down from the top of the ladder and showed me a small section of pipe. I could clearly see the tiny little mousy bite marks that bisected the pipe. How something so small could cause so much destruction was beyond me. But there were no ifs, ands or squeaks about it. It was a mouse. At first I was stunned. Nice people don’t get mice. Especially nice people who keep a clean house and set mouse traps with cheese in the basement. Apparently though, the mouse missed the memo that I was a nice clean person and he decided to bypass the cheese and go straight for the pipes. Personally, I’d choose a lovely piece of Jarlsberg over a piece of rubber tubing any day, but then again, I’m not a stupid mouse. “OK, fine,” I said to the plumber. “So what do we do now?” He looked up into the hole that was once my ceiling. “Well, first I suggest you get some fans to dry out the carpet. They you should get an estimate for repairing the damage. Then you should contact your insurance company to find out what they’ll cover. “ I wrote furiously on a notepad to make sure I didn’t miss anything. “Fans, estimate, insurance. Got it,” I repeated. “Anything else?” “Yeah …” he said, looking at the piece of chewed-up pipe. “Then you should get a cat.” “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir” makes a great gift for the holidays! To get a copy for a mom you love, go to http://amzn.to/1thnHA5. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501