Some Guy Named Bob is often the butt of my tales of woe.  I think of him often because in some ways he reminds me of my dad, with whom I had a complicated relationship.   SGNB is not quite old enough to be my father, but he is very close.

For instance, SGNB, like Dad, often asks me questions that he already knows the answer to because he cannot stand the silence.  Both men feel (felt) the urge to butt in where things did not concern them.  Small matters, I know.

In other ways, though, my dad and SGNB are polar opposites.  Dad led a neat and spartan life in his older years.  Everything had a place and nothing was out of place.  SGNB on the other hand, is a pathological hoarder and lives among chaos and clutter.

SGNB has a portable spa in his backyard and recently it has been malfunctioning.  The circuit breaker that controls the spa keeps tripping,  He called the spa company out and their repairman told him the the spa was just fine, but that circuit breaker in the electrical line was faulty.  SGNB asked me to come over and have a look see.

His asking took about 10 phone messages back and forth, but that is a given when dealing with SGNB.

I went to SGNB's house with one goal in mind, to avoid going into the house.  I've never been in the house, but I suspected that based upon the outside appearance, the inside had to be a horror show.  So I waited until I knew he wasn't home and let myself in the side gate, eliminating the danger of him inviting me in.

The back yard is not as messy as I thought it would be, but it is pretty bad.  SGNB has two big dogs and he has erected barricades made from whatever he had at hand, to keep the dogs penned in when they are outside.

I got the information off the breaker that I needed to change out and beat feet, letting myself out the way I came.  I checked around and couldn't find the breaker locally, so I ordered it from the Ace warehouse.

I told SGNB that the breaker it was about $100 and that if it wasn't the problem, we might not be able to return it.  He wanted to go ahead and try it anyway.

Well, the new breaker behaved in the same way that the old one did; the spa keeps shutting off.   He will have to get the spa guys back out.

Luckily, Ace took the breaker back and gave a refund.

Unluckily, SGNB let out the dogs while I was in the backyard and he made me go through the house to get out to my car.  It was worse than I could ever imagine.  There is literally stuff piled to the ceiling and he has pathways in which you can walk.  He has useless stuff that he cannot bring himself to dispose of.

SGNB doesn't live with giant sacks garbage or anything, he has piles and piles of useless stuff.  He has a burned out stove top in his living room perched on a pile of stuff.

I feel sick about the conditions that SGNB is living in and I wish that I could do something to help him, but I'm not sure where to get him help.  Or even if it is my business.





.











Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky