Friday, September 4, 2020

My Hero


My handyman hero repairs the dryer.

We hear about military heroes, community heroes, and some people are fascinated with fictional superheroes. So this Labor Day I want to tell you about my hero who is a real handyman. He has no formal training as a mechanic, carpenter, electrician, exterminator, plumber, nor as a techno geek. None the less he functions equally well in all those roles. He is more of a “figure it out as you go along” kind of handyman. He does read car manuals, ask professionals for advice, investigate things online and watch videos.

Picnic table Paul made for the restaurant.

This is someone who can fix a squeaky door, electric car windows and a truck fan (essential equipment in the tropics), a clothes dryer, bread machine and leaky toilets, showers, faucets and radiators. And you should see the furniture he makes! Beginning with a photo or someone’s idea he has made picnic tables, beds, shelves, dining room tables, and a curved corner bench with a matching round table. He also trouble shoots my technical problems with cell phone service, computer viruses, internet connection, and other stuff that seems like magic to me. (I grew up when telephones worked through wires on the street.) Then there are the home improvement projects like extending a roof, building walls, making a door or doorway, keying a lock, fixing a sagging porch, and adding electrical outlets and lights. And I don’t take running water or a hot shower for granted because I know the countless hours he has spent improving the Emmanuel Center’s water system. Sometimes he has to hike to the spring and clean the tank or repair a broken hose, clean filters, replace a pressure gage, or clean or repair a water heater. Since we live in a jungle, he also keeps pests at bay, so I mainly sweep up dead bugs. But when the occasional snake or mouse get inside, he is the one who takes them out. He also investigates those stinky smells coming from the river and cleans the animal carcasses off the rocky shore so I can go swimming.

Cleaning the leaves out of the water tank.

The other thing I appreciate is his preparedness and ingenuity. Maybe that came from being a boy scout or growing up with a single mom. When he replaces the guts of a toilet, he squirrels away all the functioning parts for future use. That is reasonable since it is an hour’s drive to the local hardware store and three hours to something like a Home Depot. When he plans a project, like putting up the wall between our bedroom and office, he buys or has delivered all the parts and pieces ahead of time. Other repairs he has to use what he has in his shop to make something function, like the hose he used to repair the truck fan. In Costa Rica they call that kind of ingenuity “McGivering". Other people benefit from Paul’s abilities, too. He and our neighbors joined forces to put new panels in the bridge near us.

Our dog, Kira, testing the new bridge panels.

To show my appreciation I make banana bread, chocolate cake in a mug or no bake cookies for my handyman hero, Paul. I am so glad the Lord gave me a husband with so many abilities.


Grace and peace, Bridget and Paul

No comments:

Post a Comment