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One morning I woke up early as usual, the pre-dawn light barely reaching my still-sleepy eyes. I had a big meeting that day with a client who had flown cross-country just to meet with me. It was an important meeting and I needed to get to the office early to prepare. Rising from my bed I splashed across the bedroom carpet.
Wait, splashed?
My carpet, it turns out, was rather wet. Slowly the sound of water gurgling from the bathroom reached my ears. Rushing the handful of steps I see the flood rising from the top tank of the porcelain appliance. A turn of the valve stopped the flow but apparently it had been running all night and the damage was done. The bathroom floor was a pool, the upstairs carpet was saturated, the lights ominously sizzled steam as the damp bulbs evaporated with the heat of the light.
But that was nothing compared to the waterfall pouring from my chandelier a floor down. The carpet here was saturated as well. Afraid of what I would see, I waded down the stairs to the lowest level where once again steam rose from the overhead light as soon as I turned it on. Whereas the ornate design of the second floor chandelier provided an Iguazu Falls complexity, this lower waterfall was more like Yosemite falls in flood season, hosing directly onto a folding table I had set up to store my research papers in stacks. Except now they resembled mush, or perhaps congee, seeping over the edges as they pulped into oblivion.
I stood in horror at the scene, then nearly shrieked when I realized my book collection lined the walls in that very room. Glancing around my mind slowly recovered its balance; the overhead light had miraculously directed its fury into the center of the room. My books would survive.
Needless to say, I never made it to the office that day. I called one of my colleagues to take my place with the client, then called my insurance company to ask them if they had any ideas what I should do with my house of waterfalls. Within hours an emergency service arrived, ripped up my carpet, broke through ceilings to expose the inner beams, installed a dozen (yes, a dozen) filing cabinet-sized dehumidifiers and power fans around my house, and left me to the mind-numbing noise of drying out for a week. Eventually the water subsided, the carpets were relaid, and my hearing returned. But I’ll never forget the flood.
David J. Kent is a science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!
Photo Credit: Unidentified from Pinterest.
ru.smiln said:
Oh my. I shouldn’t be laughing as I read about the disaster in your house… but sorry I just could not help it!
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davidjkentwriter said:
You wouldn’t be laughing if it had been your house. To be honest, I was shocked at how calm I was in the situation. 🙂
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SheilaDeeth said:
Oh dear. You bring back dire memories. But it’s oddly comforting to know someone else has been there. Oh how familiar the waterfalls and the giant dehumidifiers.
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davidjkentwriter said:
Seems like you have personal experience in this yourself. Definitely checked it off my bucket list (pun intended) and don’t want to have it happen again.
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SheilaDeeth said:
Likewise. Our first experience was when recently married – my husband’s wooden chess set still bearing the marks. Next came the pipe that exploded in a bathroom when I was home alone with 3 kids under 5 – a great, but not recommended, way to meet the neighbors. Then there was the house where water running from the roof came back in through the walls downstairs and spread like a lake across the floor – just before my parents came to stay. And a pipe detached itself under a sink, cascading water through the basement while youngest child blithely watched Saturday cartoons and the rest of us slept.
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davidjkentwriter said:
Ouch.
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Lightness Traveling said:
I was luckier… actually heard the pipe under the master bathroom sink explode.
Glad to hear the books made it okay (though it sounds like the research didn’t fare so well). Funny how the intellectual assets weight against the physical.
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davidjkentwriter said:
Apparently it was a rare night when I slept soundly. Research was re-created, these books are often one of a kind, or at least rare.
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aerie01 said:
I had this happen once with an air conditioner in the townhouse I used to rent in PA. We came home from the movies and when I went in to see Frodo, I…squished. Squished? Just like you described. Luckily, the complex took care of it but I also had to live with the fan going for days, and eventually, they had to replace the carpeting. Did you leave the tub running?
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davidjkentwriter said:
The whole experience was not fun, though the insurance company did arrange for the emergency response folks and then paid them and all the contractors that came in to put my house back together. But it gets worse, while the guys were coming in daily to repair flood damage I was also dealing with a leaking shower that dripped a hole through my kitchen ceiling.
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Really Great Gift Ideas said:
Wow! That was a very well written account of what happened…
it gave me goosebumps and made my nipples erect!
I could feel your pain.
Thank GOODNESS that your BOOKS were okay!
Believe it or not, that was my first concern while reading
your story…
it was fascinating the way you almost made it sound a bit comical.
Thanks for sharing, and surviving!
xoxo
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davidjkentwriter said:
Thanks for the compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed the piece.
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Really Great Gift Ideas said:
I am glad your books were unharmed!
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davidjkentwriter said:
Me too 🙂
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Success Inspirers' World said:
I can see what you went through. Thank God you survived it.
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davidjkentwriter said:
It was an experience I hope never to repeat.
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