Handyman Jimmy 01
"Well Jimmy, what's the verdict?"
"It's not great, yet it's not too bad, Mrs. Allister."
"Great, just the response I have come to expect from a man. Maybe yes and maybe no. Or otherwise known as the main reason my ex-hubby is my ex-hubby."
"Hey, take it easy on me. I'm not saying that it's your fault. I mean, shame on the original contractors for installing the driveway lamp post where they did, right Mrs. Allister? I mean, I'm not asking you if you actually made a left hand turn on the grass or anything, but the nerve of the contractors to place the outdoor lamp post way over here, way away from the driveway, right?"
"Exactly! Wait, unless that was sarcasm. Was that sarcasm, Jimmy?"
"Well, you know us men folk, Mrs. Allister, maybe yes and maybe no, LOL. Anyways, you basically have two choices. I can stand it back up straight and refill the hole with fix-it cement and hope that you didn't rip the wiring out or I can just remove it all together and dead end the wires in the bottom of the hole and at the low voltage transformer in your basement. I'm may not an expert, but I think these types of outdoor lamp posts are a little dated."
Well, hells bells, I think Mrs. Allister took that wrong and I say that because one of her specialties is the way she leans her shoulders back, crosses her arms and taps one of her toes as she tries to figure out what the situation is, like the situation where is trying to determine if I just said that she dated, which I did not, by the way. It's the lawn lamp posts that are dead, not Mrs. Allister.
"And clearly, what I mean by that Mrs. Allister, is just look up and down the street and you will notice that your lamp post is the last lamp post standing. Well, it's clearly leaning right now, but you get what I'm saying, right Mrs. Allister?"
"Hmmm, and another thing I've come to expect from a man, LOL, a quick "cover my butt" come back and more sarcasm. But now that you mention it, you do seem to be right about mine being the only one in sight. Anyways, fine, you can just remove the entire thing."
"Cool, um, I'll be here about 9am or so tomorrow morning to remove it, fill in the hole with a little dirt and disconnect the wiring at the transformer, alright Mrs. Allister?"
"Alright Jimmy, I'll look forward to a morning of sarcasm free handyman work from you."
"Now, now, Mrs. Allister."
"Oops, where have my manners gone, Jimmy. Oh, my stars kind sir, I do declare that I'll be on pins and needles until the early hours of the morning (eye bat) when you, as a man and my savior, will bless me with your gracious and manly efforts to remove my lamp post that I do declare, looks like it went through a hurricane. And by the fortunes provided by the local grocery store kind sir, do I dare provide you with a bold coffee before the sun rises too high in the sky and maybe, I do declare, an ice cold ice tea when it becomes (eye bat) unbearable (eye bat) to work under once the sun gets higher in the sky, kind sir?"
Well, she forgot to twist on one foot and screw her index finger into her chin and all, but that response was much better.
"Shoot, I'm sorry Jimmy, I've still lost my manners. I think I was supposed to twist on one foot and screw my index finger into my chin, so I'll double up in the morning. So, are we done for now then, Jimmy? I need to finish getting ready for my Friday night Bridge game tonight."
"Yeah, we're done for tonight, Mrs. Allister and I'll get out of your way because I can clearly see that a change of clothing would be appropriate for a Friday evening of playing Bridge with the gossip club."
"Oh, kind sir, whatever do you mean? As the universe is my witness, I do declare that (eye bat) I'm just a (toe twist) poor helpless southern belle who has no secrets to hide (finger to chin) and just wants to enjoy an evening playing a few games of Bridge with the other southern belles."
"Well, as a scum of the earth man and a kind sir, I am no expert, but I've been to the mall and I do declare, I have seen many a pair of comfortable mom jeans and your jeans seem to be a little different. They look more like "these jeans are too tight to play Bridge in" style jeans or something, not that it's any of my business or anything."
"Fine Jimmy, I don't even know how to play Bridge. I've been going to the Line Dance club every other Friday night, but at least there are men there. Not that's it's any of your business, nosey handyman."
"Hey, I'm just the hired help and I don't judge. That actually sounds pretty cool, Mrs. Allister and I hope you have a lot fun. It just seems silly to hide something like that, not that it's any of my business."
"Well, you started it Jimmy, so finish it off. Do I look nice in them or not? I did up my game for tonight in terms of how tight they fit. I went with the shoehorn and baby oil required style."
"You absolutely look great in them, Mrs. Allister. Or they look great on you, either way. Anyways, I'm sure that you will have the men lining up to have a line dance with you and if I'm not being out of line, I'd keep you in my line of sight too. At the Line Dance club. If I went to the Line Dance club."
"Well, I guess we'll just leave that as it is for now, Jimmy. Um, I do declare."
Here was the silver lining of this project. LOL, her attempt to get her car closer to the door to unload her car did more than half of the work for me. I checked it out and figured that with a hand full of wiggles and pulls, the post would be out of the ground pretty quick. And because silver linings always go in my favor, that's about the way it went. Wiggle, wiggle, pull, pull, snip the wires, fill in the hole with some dirt from her backyard and disconnect the wires at the low voltage transformer in her basement. Not that I worked all that fast because I do declare, I was promised a bold coffee and I was going to get that coffee.
"Mrs. Allister, I'm not even going to ask you how things went last night at the Line Dance club because that's your business, but if you want to talk about anything while I have a few sips of my coffee which I suspect is coming soon, well, I'm half handyman and half good listener."
"Oh, my kind savior sir, why would you ever doubt little ole me? By the graces of the good earth and a simple social media search, I do declare that your coffee is double-double bold with a pleasing mixture of one and one. Oh, and if I forgot a do declare, then I do declare oh kind sir because it feels like I'm running one "do declare" behind."
Well, I do declare that there is nothing wrong with a nice pair of thin Saturday morning white cotton shorts and a red blouse either. And by way, wasn't I extremely clear when I said that she didn't need to dish about what happened at the dance club the night before? I mean, wasn't she suppose to hear it the other way around and spill the beans on whether she slept on the left side of her bed or diagonal in her bed? These were the questions that consumed my mind as I sipped my morning coffee and gazed upon her Saturday morning cleavage before getting started with my easiest side job ever.
"Jimmy, I think the little transformer thingmabob is above the washing machine in the basement, so I'll go into the basement in a few minutes to make sure that there is a clear path for you. I mean, I'm sure you don't care to see what's in my laundry basket and all."
"And in the meantime, you're going to have your coffee on the front porch and watch that I don't refill the hole with dirt the wrong way, Mrs. Allister?"
"Well, I do declare kind sir, with the beautiful morning sun as my witness, my intentions are pure and innocent. But you know, right Jimmy? I don't want to stumble from a hole that is not properly filled or anything, so stomp it good and stomp it hard."