A Cast Iron Grease Trap

This morning’s snow hit us quick and hard, and by the time the hour of eleven arrived, we had a good four or five inches of snow on the ground. Yes, it did finally let up, but then the sleet started, so unfortunately I had three rounds of scraping ice off my vehicle’s windows. The air above us must’ve been warmer than below because it was hovering around 23 degrees when it started. Oh well, we officially only have one more month of winter, so I guess we’d best continue to endure it for the remainder of the season. I had to laugh when after I was making such a fuss with one of my colleagues about this snow storm, he calmly said, “Joe, it’s only snow.”, which did help to bring me back down off my high horse.

The bulk of my day was spent setting up numerous showings for my new listing at 16111 – 245th Street, along with getting a good jump on the shoveling which had to be done. Of course keeping my office sidewalks clean, along with re-opening the walkways between those snowbanks our City snowplows were closing, made for a really good workout. There’s no doubt I’ll be back at it again tomorrow morning.

I made sure to call my dear friend about an office move that’d taken place this week which has been creating jaw-drops every time someone’s been informed of the change.  That move, was just another confirmation that our business and corporate world has been rapidly changing since the pandemic arrived, and I personally don’t see the end of it. All we can do, is continue to wish the best for people during their transitional times.

While visiting with a business owner this morning, I was alerted that one of the plumbing requirements being made by our City, was to have an grease trap installed under a kitchen sink. I just about lost it when told that because I’d not heard of a regular kitchen sink requiring a grease trap, and yes I get it with some of these drive-thru’s and large restaurant kitchens, but a normal kitchen, I’d say “No”.

Of course back when we were on the working farm, we had a cast iron grease trap strapped to the basement floor joists below our kitchen sink, and about once or twice a year, it would have to be emptied. Well, one late Fall day, my mother insisted I go down and clean out that two gallon grease trap, and once I had it cleaned out and carrying that bucket-full of old grease up the basement steps, she hollered after me to go and dump it on the other side of our garden fence, so that’s what I did.

Well, you might say “the fly in the ointment”, was our having ten german shepherd puppies who were the most trouble-making, yet cutest little blobs, who somehow managed to get thru that woven wire fence, and ate themselves to the point where they were bloated blobs by the time I discovered where they were and what they were up to. Oh my goodness!  After I managed to get them herded back up onto the stoop of our back door, there they were in one big pile making their little grunting noises which I figured was either gastrointestinal noises of bliss, or possibly pain. You can be sure they had the runs for a good two days after that. Even after all these years, I can still see them in that pile of soft puppy fur, blinking up at me thru the rays of a late autumn sun. Yes, a flock of puppies can be the most curious and mischievous. I had to share that story with that business owner, which created another round of laughter. Yes, those were the days.

Once I had all my office work completed, it was nearing the time for me to head out to my pre-listing appointment. The owner called early this morning, wondering if I was still planning on being there. I told her it was still on for today, unless the weather took a turn for the worst, so about a half hour before, I called to say I’d be there on time.

When I pulled up and noticed the snow hadn’t been shoveled, I was glad I decided to put my tall boots on, just in case. After getting a good look at the outside, I went up to the front door where she was waiting. Well, after getting the grand tour, my suspicions were fully confirmed, and that was my having that “feeling”, it would be in near-perfect condition, and that’s exactly how it appeared.

After going thru the comparable sales I’d pulled while at office, we came to an agreement on price, along with the day and time I’d be stopping over to list it. The only caution I had for her, was the fact that we’ll likely have hour-after-hour showings on it, along with possibly ending up with multiple offers. Since she’s lived there so long, along with not paying any attention to what our market has been doing, she’ll be in shell-shock long after we have it under contract. Thank goodness I managed to find some really good recent comparable sales. Whomever ends up owning that home, is going enjoy it for years to come.

I’m still in a bit of shock at how many people have been inquiring on yesterday’s new listing, to where we already have appointments scheduled for Friday. I personally have a showing on it tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll be the one to sell it. It truly is in move-in condition.

While on the phone with a client today, I couldn’t help bringing up that episode I shared with him last Fall regarding the way in which a seller had gone off on me for the smallest of reasons. I did mention today, that it was likely the most frightening time to where I was concerned that guy was gonna do something radical before I left. We both came to the conclusion that there were some underling mental issues going on at the time, and yes, that particular episode went all the way to the bone with me.

Tonight’s One-liner is: We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself, the means of inspiration and survival.

Related Property:
16111 – 245th St. Mason City
Joe Chodur

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