Grand River and Joy by Susan Messer

Author:Susan Messer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Michigan Press

He was trying to explain to himself how he'd let things go with the boiler, despite the signs: Alvin, shirtless; pipes, clanking; annual maintenance, overlooked.

Maintenance meant cleaning the burners, brushing out the flue pipes. Draining off the sludge. Sludge. What a word. It wasn't hard to picture the damage sludge accumulation could do, clogging and rusting. Then, if the holding tank rusted, it wouldn't hold, and then the water would seep or spill out of the system, and if the low-water shutoff was clogged, the gas burner would keep burning, and the cast iron would keep heating like a kettle on the stove with no water . . .

His father had shown him how to drain off the dregs, refill the tank, then check the temperature and pressure gauges. He'd shown him the coiled innards of the boiler, the lines of the manifold, the pilot tubing, the thermocouple. He'd said, “Who needs to hire someone?” Joe tried to push Harry to get in there, with his head, his hands, poke around, deal with the fear. (“It's only a machine,” he used to say, “you can't hurt it.”) This, just after telling about the exploding boilers of Chicago, Boston, Seattle, the doors and floors and walls raining down on the passersby. So when Harry would be slow about it, or tentative, Joe would get impatient, take over. Fine. That had been what Harry wanted anyway.

“You did it to yourself,” Harry said. He said it out loud. One of Joe's well-worn expressions, giving debit where debit was due. As when someone complained about being stuffed after a meal. Or woozy the day after staying up late at a party, having a few drinks too many. Or neglecting to do something important.

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