Rev. Erudite Redneck, B.S., B.S., M.A., M.Div.

The ER's have water in the kitchen again! Yippee! So the dishes are getting caught up.

Thursday night at about 10:30, Dr. ER and I noticed water in the kitchen floor in front of the sink. I opened the doors to the cabinet below to find everything wet.

Dr. ER promptly slipped and FELL ON HER HIP, the other one, thank God, and apparently caused no damage, thank God, because, thank God, she is proceeding nicely in healing her other hip from falling almost a year ago while looking at Christmas lights in Texas.

But, Lordy, I saw her falling in slow motion with one side of my brain, with the other side fast-forwarding through almost a year of recovery, doctor visits, physical therapy, being off from work, pain, emotions and everything else that comes with longterm healing.

When she landed, she lay there like a slug -- "it was her only defense" (name the movie and the circumstances for a rare Holiday ER Point!)

Actually, she laughed, not because she knew for sure she was all right, but because you have to laugh when life's troubles become farcical -- which, the night before Mama ER's surgery, a kitchen problem and another fall on the other hip seemed to be:

Too much! A farce, I tell ya! Gotta laugh to keep from crying.

So, this afternoon, between trips to see Mama ER, after two trips to Lowe's, I've repaired the water problem, which -- and I should be embarrassed, but what the hey -- was this:

Apparently, our kitchen sink has a water purification system. Huh. Turns out that's what the two plastic things that look like Thermoses, attached to the left wall of the cabinet under the sink -- turns out those are housings for filters. Huh. Turns out that the filters are supposed to be replaced every six months.

Turns out we never noticed that when we moved in this house in November 1999. So what happened was the filters finally got so full of minerals and gunk and stuff they finally just had enough and one of 'em, like, caused the housing to start leaking.

It's fixed now. Less than $20, not counting the gas to Lowe's and back twice.

I'll bet the coffee maker quits stopping up so fast. Shoot, the water might even taste better.

"Didn't we have a problem like that in the refrigerator?" Bird asked on the phone.

"Maybe," ER said. "Well, yeah, I guess so. The filter on the icemaker. We're really not good at some things."

"Y'all suck at filters," Bird said.

Out of the mouths of Birds. :-)


Mama ER update: Still on the ventilator when I was there after church today. She recognized me. I'm going back in a little bit.


Prayer of Confession at this church:

"Lord of Life, there are times when we think things cannot get worse, and the apocalyptic text of the Bible seems disturbingly relevant. But it is at precisely such times that the prophets ask us to envision a different future -- one that has God in mind. Not because of what the evidence points to, but so that we can begin to change the evidence. Advent is about waiting and hoping -- for what has been and what will be. We won't just curse the darkness. We'll light the candles. In Christ's name we pray, Amen."

--ER