The Laundry Saga

My dryer was repaired this morning. Seven months after it had broken. I have been content to use my clothes line, but with some wetting issues with the kids and just plain getting behind, I needed the dryer to get certain items dried, NOW. So I finally called. I am glad I did, too. It will be handy as a heat source in the winter. The repair guy was just a small business from Knoxville, as I wanted to be as local as possible. With the economy and such he and his wife had gotten into some trouble on their house loan, and had been living at a campground for a couple weeks while they waited to see if they could get a new loan, after being evicted on only ten days notice. I felt like it was a good indication of why it is so important to shop locally. By giving him my business, I helped to perpetuate this service availability in my area. The amount of money he takes away from working for himself rather than for say, Sears, where he used to work, is far greater. He was also very honest, and explained the protocol for Sears repair guys fixing the problem with my dryer,compared to what he was doing, which after numerous explanations from my husband made perfect sense for why it was necessary to install two parts rather than one. I am not saying Sears is bad, but working with local businesses is just so important. It is the way things used to be. I have his cell phone; I won't be put on hold. He lives 20 minutes away and carries his stock with him (as well as his dog who was patiently waiting in the truck today). My clothesline had broken about a week ago. Dad fixed it Saturday, but I still was ready to have the dryer fixed for our backup drying source, as one indoor drying rack works fine when I am caught up during stormy/cold times, but when I get behind there is no way to catch up without doing several loads a day, requiring the outdoor line or the dryer.