Livin' on "Lake Time"

“Livin’ on Lake Time” - if you’ve visited a lake town you’ve seen t-shirts, coasters, painted wood wall decorations, etc., etc. promoting this happy notion. “Lake Time” conjures up images of flip-flops and sun hats, boats and bathing suits, cold drinks in the hot sun, fishing, camping, and having fun. There’s nothing quite like the way time stands still during a long leisurely day on the lake…

What I discovered a short while after we made the permanent move to “Lake Time” is that it also applies when you need to have something fixed or built or done by someone other than yourself. Good luck with that, because it’s going to take a good long while for anyone who lives and works on “Lake Time” to show up or get anything done. It turns out “Lake Time” is its own zone where time really does stand still and not just when you’re having fun.  

Just after the move to our lake house we discovered some electrical and plumbing issues. I Googled plumbers and electricians in our area and a few came up. Two of the electricians did only commercial work and the remaining one said he was “booked, at least a month out, probably more.” Same with the plumbers – two did commercial only, and the third said he “wasn’t’ sure when he could get to me.” I had no phone book; there were no ads in the local paper, so, I turned to the dog groomer, a lifelong resident. She gave me one name, Rullie H.

“He’s a plumber, electrician and certified mortician,” she said. “Might take him a while to get to you, but Rullie’s the only one to call. He’ll show up and get the work done. His wife works with him, real nice gal. She sells real estate and is mortician certified, too.”   

I called Rullie and Mrs. Rullie answered right away. She said they could make it by the end of the week for the “serious problems” but the rest would have to wait. True to their word, they came late Friday and dealt with the “potential hazards,” as he called them. Mrs. Rullie said they’d be back “in a few weeks” to fix the rest, but they never came.  

Eleven months later, we had a true plumbing emergency, so I called Rullie. Mrs. Rullie said it “sounds like real mess. We’ll be out by the end of the day.” After they got the job done,  I reminded them him about the minor problems; they fixed one and said they’d “be back once things slow down.” Apparently, they stay real busy…

It’s the same with contractors, tree companies, handyman services, etc. If they return your call (and don’t sound too scary on the phone), some will come out to do a bid, most won’t. The ones who do show up are “booked a ways out” and “might be able to get to it in a month or so.”  There are a few who say they can “start tomorrow.” I fell for that once, but never again. There’s a reason those guys don’t have work – they’re either too sketchy to let into your home or they’re really lousy.

It’s not clear if there’s not enough workers to do the work that needs doing or if it’s something else. Most of them seem nice enough and/or have good intentions. It’s possible we’re always at the bottom of the list because we’re new here and nobody knows us, which means they don’t have to face us at church on Sunday or risk having their Mama’s gossip about them being “too sorry to work.” Maybe it’s “Lake Time” which passes at a real leisurely pace, or maybe they just save plenty of time for their own “Lake Time.” Whatever it is, it’s consistent and frustrating.

When our old pontoon boat needed repairs, covered storage and to be sold we called a local marina. “Great! We can getcha’ all taken care of by the end of this week. We’ll have that boat fixed, in storage and sold in no time!” Three months later I called back; the boat was in storage, but they were “waitin’ on a part – should be in next week.” Another month passed; by now it was early spring/tax refund time which means if a boat’s going to sell, it needs to be on the market.

“Oh, yeah. We got her all fixed up,” the marina guy’s mom said. (She works the front desk and does the books.) I b’lieve he’s got that boat near sold. He’s just gotta’ sell that man’s boat, so that man can buy your boat.” Three weeks later, I get an urgent, frantic-sounding call. The boat was sold if I could just “come off the price a little bit.” Fine; done. That only took five months.

This whole time I’d not been billed a cent – not for storage or repairs or commission on selling the boat. “We’ll settle up at the end,” is all Mom said. Cash flow’s gotta’ be rough at times…

Last November I ordered kayak storage rack from the company that built our dock; it never came. Last week (10 months later), the company was scheduling a crew to come do some warranty work; they asked if I still wanted the kayak rack. “It’s on the work order, right here.” Nope, made other arrangements.

It goes on and on…We had to have a lot of expensive work done on our well and pump in December. They replaced all but one part – a part that sticks if the water in the well gets low. At the beginning of what was a very dry June, I called them about replacing that part, explaining how when it sticks I have no water, so I have to go lift the huge pump house lid and bang on the part with a rubber mallet (so as not to get shocked – I learned that the hard way…)  Three months later, they’ve still not been out to replace the part.

In late June I called, “a work order was never made.” Mid-July, “I don’t know why they didn’t replace that when they did all that work in December; it’s right here on the old work order. Shouldn’t be too much longer…” I called again last week (mid-August), “Should be able to get somebody out there by the end of the week.” Nope, they didn’t make it. I’m still hoping for a part that was on a December work order…”Lake Time.” 

Recently I got into a verbal altercation with the woman who “works the desk” at another marina. We scheduled an annual maintenance check on the new pontoon in early June. “Should be two weeks or so,” she said. Three weeks later, I called to tell her the boat was now running rough and we had guests coming for the 4^th (of July.) It took her awhile to find the work order. “It’s pretty far down in the pile,” she said. “We should be able to get to it in time for the holiday.”

Nope, I called again in early August, less urgent, as the running rough had apparently been bad fuel. The lady said they’d “pick it up a week from Monday,” which they actually did. On Thursday, I called to check on the progress. “They’ve not gotten a chance to look at that boat,” she said. When I asked her if they would be able to get to it so that we could have the boat back for the weekend, “We should be able to,” was her response. “I don’t see why not…” Friday, late morning I called

to see if they were going to service the boat that day. “We should be able to,” she said, one more time. “I don’t see why not…”   

“It’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question,” I said. “Will the boat be serviced today or not?” She hung up on me. When I called back, the answering machine was on. I left a terse message about wanting the boat back by early afternoon – they could do the maintenance check before they brought it back or just bring it back. Whatever suited them was fine by us.

One of the young mechanics called right back. He apologized, saying “this happens all the time,” then brought the boat back untouched. At least there was no charge…

During the first few boat rides we took, right after the move to the lake, I felt almost annoyed. “This isn’t very productive,” I thought. “What a waste of time…I’m just sitting here doing nothing…” But wait, isn’t that the point of living on the lake? To do a lot more of nothing, out on the lake?

Since then I’ve gotten better at doing nothing on a boat. These days, I can spend entire days on the lake without a single twinge of guilt. Does this mean I’m living on “Lake Time?” Not yet, but maybe there’s hope…