On January 1, 1972, I began keeping a journal. That was the year I planned to graduate from college, get married, start a career and finish my six year obligation in the Army National Guard. On the cover of my journal I inscribed my favorite Scottish prayer.
I accomplished all of my goals for 1972. AND – I’ve been really fortunate in the ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties area since then.
But at 4:30 am on March 5, 2019, I took a hit in the “things that go bump in the night” category. That was when my wife woke me from a sound sleep with the words “The chandelier fell off the ceiling!”
To which I alertly responded “HUH?”
She had been awakened by a rather large “bump in the night”. When she went to investigate, she discovered the large chandelier that had been suspended from the 21-foot ceiling in our great room for the past 25 years was now residing on the floor of our great room.
The chandelier in question had been hanging from the ceiling of our home for approximately 219,000 hours (3,140,000 minutes) when it succumbed to the law of gravity. That’s a long time. Maybe I’m overly demanding, but I still expected better.
It’s not the first time this large lighting fixture has been a source of trouble. When we bought our home in 1998, the original owners (who had designed and built the home) were in the midst of a divorce.
“My wife spent our entire lighting allowance on that chandelier” lamented the husband.
As often happens in life, our calamity was caused when something little went awry resulting in a chain reaction with disastrous results.
In this case, an apparently “too small” or “too weak” piece of metal that had been supporting the weight all these years suddenly snapped in half. That left only a hanging electrical cord with frayed ends and a large void where once had hung a 50 lb chandelier sporting 24 twinkling lights.
Though I don’t recommend this as a way to start your day, looking on the bright side there are two things I’m thankful for in the aftermath of the chandelier that waited for spring to fall:
- No one was injured (or worse). Our grandkids often use the coffee table beneath that light to color and do crafts; and
- When something like this happens at 4:30 am, you are almost guaranteed that your day has to get better from there.
Now for the challenging part – reattaching the chandelier to the ceiling. I have put together a crack construction team of three: two guys who know what they are doing and me. The combined age of my team is just shy of 210 years.
What could possibly go wrong?
Though I get little nervous standing on top of a 16-foot-tall platform that sways under my feet, I am a proponent of the philosophy “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain!”
Tomorrow I will put that philosophy to the test.
Worst case scenario, I won’t have to be concerned about “ghosties” any more.
I’ll be one.
If there is a next blog, I intend to title it “That Great Gettin’ Up Morning”.
If no more blogs are forthcoming, contact my wife if you are interested in buying a used chandelier. CHEAP!
The View From the Other Side of the Hill 