Disaster at the comic book store
Jan. 19th, 2013 11:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fbhjrAfter getting my hair cut this morning I went over to the comic book store to pick up our comics for the last month or so.
Due to a strong need, I had to ask the young woman behind the counter if I could use the employee bathroom.
She was very nice an agreed, handing me the key. (For some reason it is attached to an old Atari game cartridge.)
I did what I needed to do. As I reached over to flush the toilet, my sunglasses fell off my head into the bowl.
I saw them, a Christmas gift from my wife, sitting there sideways across the drain.
“They won’t fit through the hole,” I thought to myself. “So, they’ll be cleaner if I flush first.”
Apparently the comic book shop has installed a toilet that flushes with the strength of the superheroes whose stories they sell. The current twisted around my glasses, somehow managed to fold them up, and pull them away down the drain.
I tried the plunger. I bent over and looked down the drain. No sign of them at all.
I went back to the register.
“I’m sorry, but I may have just ruined your toilet,” I told the young woman.
I explained.
“Wait here, I’ll call the manager.”
I’ve known the manager, Ken, for more than 30 years. He and my wife were both artists on the comic book the shop used to put out. And, when my wife and I did our own comic book he was the guest artist for several different issues and covers.
“Hi, Ken. I just flushed my sunglasses down your toilet.”
Again, I explained.
“You didn’t try and fish them out first?” he asked.
“No. I thought they’d be cleaner afterwards and didn’t think the current would be strong enough to take them.”
“I had my plumber put in a toilet that could pull down a small child,” Ken told me. “Your sunglasses didn’t stand a chance.”
“What if they get stuck?” the young woman asked.
“The pipes to and from the building are very old,” Ken said. “And there are places there isn’t much space. They could get stuck there and we’d have to call a plumber to get them out.”
“Do you want me to go flush some more and see if things get stuck?” I asked.
“No, Saturday is our busiest day. The problem will take care of itself.”
“I’m really sorry if I’ve damaged your pipes,” I told him.
“Over the years we’ve had a lot of things clog up a lot of pipes here,” he said. “But, you’re the first person who has ever come up front and admitted flushing something. So, I have a lot of respect for that. Don’t worry about it. If something goes wrong, I’ll just have it fixed.”
“If we find them, do you want them back?” the young woman asked.
“This is your busy day, right? Lots of people will use it?”
Ken just shook his head at the thought.
“I don’t think there is any need to return them,” I said.
I paid for my comics, and old Doctor Who tapes, and went home. My wife assures me they weren’t too expensive and she may buy me replacements.
But, I do feel very bad about losing them. And, how it happened.
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no subject
Date: 2013-01-19 04:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-19 09:15 pm (UTC)I am bummed for you -I find it so hard to find a pair of sunglasses I like so to lose mine would be devastating - takes me forever to find a new pair.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-20 04:19 am (UTC)But, I still feel really bad about it.
But, the manager and owner are both cool people I have considered friends for a very long time. While I hate to cause them problems, I'm glad it was friends who were understanding.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-20 10:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-19 10:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-20 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-19 11:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-23 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-20 02:39 am (UTC)I would too feel super-awful and more still while having to admit it to the [store]
Glad I added you!
Date: 2013-01-20 03:56 am (UTC)Re: Glad I added you!
Date: 2013-01-20 04:19 am (UTC)