Taking the plunge to Fifth and Maine

THERE ARE A lot of things I don't know how to do when it comes to Fifth and Maine. I can sell you a guitar and teach you how to play Wipeout, but I can't do anything mechanical, electrical or even how to type up an invoice on Quickbooks.

This morning Sheryl went to physical therapy for her shoulder, and the PT asked her why I wasn't there. "We need to show him what you are doing so he can help you," she said. After Sheryl stopped laughing and throwing her shoulder out of whack, she said, "He can't even run the cash register. He's a musician."

Well, I can fake my way around a cash register, but the point is, I stick to what I know how to do. It might not be much, but it's all I got.

There is one thing, however, I have recently learned to do and it's very important when you own a building and rent space out to another business. Namely, you need to learn how to plunge a toilet.

Last Friday night the toilet in Electric Fountain Brewing got stopped up. Somebody flushed a diaper and it was clogged. Fortunately it didn't spill over the bowl, but man, it was nasty.

So I got the plunger out and started plunging away. When Sheryl saw me, she started laughing (sense a theme here?) and said, "Let me walk you through this. You gotta get an air bubble in the plunge chamber."

It's all about the angle.

Seems you have to plunge, remove the plunger out of the water, and let the air get back into the rubber end of the plunger. Also, you have to plunge at the correct angle and completely cover the opening at the bottom of the bowl. The plunger has to seal the hole for maximum plunge efficiency. Who knew?

Sure enough, after about two minutes of cussing and plunging correctly, in that order, the toilet miraculously drained and everything was fine. Now I know all about correct plunging angles and plunger air bubbles.

And I'm so much better prepared for the next time something gets stopped up around here.