The Ladder

We moved into the house at the start of winter, moved a lot of people and a lot of stuff and a lot of disorganization that we could only hope would become better organized than it was before, without really knowing how or if that could be accomplished. So when the rains came the cascades of water sluicing over the rain gutter's edges were not of any particular interest.

Months later I was finally cleaning up the pool area, pulling weeds and sweeping up a winter's worth of fallen leaves and rotten lemons, when I glanced up at that gutter and saw a weed eighteen inches tall growing out of it. Well, I thought. That gutter has not been cleared out in a while. Too bad I don't have a ladder.

Summer made its debut and the air conditioner broke and the owners dawdled on fixing it (they still dawdle, and it's been a month) and the pool became a popular place even for me. I don't care about swimming, particularly. I can swim, and I'm glad I can swim, but it seems a strange way to get around, and I typically abandon the pool to the young and noisy. But if it's particularly warm I do like sitting on the edge with my feet in the water, drinking a cold beer and chatting or reading or staring up at the gutter whose weed is now three feet tall. It was upon this observation that I thought, Hmm, perhaps I should get a ladder.

Our friends threw a party and the artist among us made a painting for it of flaming dragons that is nine feet wide and twelve feet tall. After all was done and put away the painting deserved better than to languish in storage so it was decided to hang it on the house's tallest wall. I did some mental engineering and decided I needed a ladder, just as before, but this time it was important. So I called a friend and borrowed his ten foot A-frame and did some more engineering and hanged the painting. It is, of course, completely fabulous.

Meanwhile we had a ten foot ladder in a house occupied by adventurous, inventive, and pool-loving children who suddenly asked their mother if they could use the ladder to jump into the pool from the roof. She said no and they asked why and she gave some reasons and I gave some more and then noticed that the ladder was in the pool area outside next to the house. The larger of these inventive adventurers pointed out that no one had gotten hurt yet, by way of justifying the request, and this led me to a decision. Two decisions, actually.

When I borrowed the ladder I said to my friend, "I'm going to buy one, I just don't have time today," and he said, "Why buy one when you can borrow one?" I dislike borrowing things I actually need but the foregoing adventures led to the decision that a) borrowing a tall ladder is not so bad and b) the gutters can wait. I returned the ladder to my friend this morning.