Some of that good well water...

Shonda and Chris had purchased their first home in a whirlwind process that only took about two weeks. They had contemplated it for a few months, but by the time they found a real estate agent, it seemed like everything was just too easy and fell right into place for them. It only took a few days to get pre-approved for a loan, and then only a few more to find just the right house. Once they closed on it, they found themselves packing three years worth of stuff and hauling it across town to the house that they would forever think of as their first true home.

Sure they had lived in various houses throughout their lives, but a home was something different. A home was something that you could make your own. They could give it a sense of style and uniqueness without having to ask someone’s permission first. This appealed to them both and they were anxious to paint the walls all of their favorite colors and hang up curtains that showed the true “them”.

Unfortunately, they were so caught up in the moment and in the hastiness in which everything had happened, that they forgot to consider a few small details. When they worked out their budget to include a new mortgage payment (quite a bit higher than what they were accustomed to paying for rent) they neglected the fact that they never had to worry about a washer, dryer or refrigerator before. Upon realizing this and knowing that they wouldn’t be able to afford buy these things for quite some time, they decided to browse the local Rent-to-Own places to see what they could find.

When they entered one such establishment, they found that the washers and dryers were not too bad as far as a weekly rental was concerned. And they decided that they could afford that until January when they got their income tax refund. The refrigerators, however, were altogether out of their price range and they simply couldn’t afford the weekly payments that would be required.

So the day that they moved in the last of their furniture, Chris scoured the classifieds to see what they had to offer. He finally found an ad stating a sizeable fridge in good condition that had to "go now at this very reasonable price." Not wanting to risk losing it to someone else, Chris called the number and made arrangements to pick the thing up.

When he and his brother arrived, they found a beast of a machine waiting for them. It was a light brown, double door fridge that looked like it was straight from the 70’s. With the help of the seller, they managed to work the 500 pound monster up into the back of his brother’s tiny little pick-up truck and drove home at a snail’s pace. Every corner and turn they encountered made the truck lean over just a little further than normal because of the weight of the fridge. But they made it home without major incident only to face the daunting task of getting the thing not only inside, but up a flight of stairs as well.

Chris called a friend from college who lived not far away and the boys got down to the task at hand. The three of them easily got the thing out of the bed of the truck, because gravity was doing most of the work for them. All they had to concentrate on was not dropping it. They then worked it down the short side walk in front of the house and up to a tiny concrete porch. This only required one step up, and while it took some effort, the three of them managed.

“This may not be as hard as I thought,” Chris stated with confidence. Only to find out almost immediately that he was completely wrong. The fridge was not only very heavy, but there weren’t very many places to get a good grip on it. And, most of those places were solid steel and somewhat sharp. They only had about seven steps to go, but it took them a good 45 minutes. As they reached the top, exhausted, they had no choice but to lean the thing all the way over to clear the entrance to the kitchen. Once it was in they got it right side up and plugged it in. It began to hum softly as the cooling element came to life and they were satisfied with a job well done.

Chris checked on the thing several times over the next few hours and it kept getting colder and colder. So they went to bed content that they had made a decent purchase and that all was well.
Chris woke up the next day only to find that while the thing was still running, it was not very cold at all. “That figures,” he thought to himself, glad that he had only paid $80 for it. “Hopefully it will last for a few months.”

That turned out to be wishful thinking. Within a few days the appliance had lost all capacity to maintain a cold temperature and they were forced to store their food in ice chests. During a phone call to her mother, Shonda mentioned what had happened.

“Why’d they lay it down?” was Ranae’s first response. “Everyone knows you can’t lay a fridge down and then plug it in right away. You have to wait for a least a day or two for all the fluid to come out of the compressor. They probably burned that darn thing up!”

“How in the world is a normal human being supposed to know that?” Chris practically yelled. “Unless I’m a refrigerator mover or I’ve seen that obscure fact someplace on the internet, how am I supposed to know that?” He was more embarrassed than upset about this. Once he heard what had happened it all made logical sense as to why it wasn't working.

Ranae offered that a nearby thrift store in a neighboring town had a small fridge out front the last time she drove by. “I think it was only $50,” she said.

Chris asked her to see if it was still there and to either put it on hold or buy it and he would pay her back. She said she would and that following Saturday, Chris drove three and a half hours to Kentucky to pick the thing up.

Not expecting much when he arrived, he wasn’t surprised to see that this fridge was very small and very old. But, it didn’t smell and once he plugged it in to make sure it worked, he hauled it back home.

They lived with this excuse for a fridge for the next two months. It worked, to be sure, but it accumulated frost very quickly and never really got things as cold as they were supposed to be. So it was with extreme excitement when January hit and they received their tax refund check from the government. They drove down to the Home Depot and began browsing. They settled on a two door fridge that had all the amenities: ice maker, ample storage, moveable shelving, plenty of freezer space and an ice and water dispenser in the door.

The latter feature was utilized more than any other. They both loved that they didn’t have to dig in an ice bucket or crack open an ice tray when the needed a glass of ice. And the water dispenser had its own filtration system so it was just as good as bottled water. So they were content, and their food and beverages were properly cooled and stored.

So it was with great pride that they worked on their little home. Painting a room here, adding a ceiling fan there. All those inexpensive minor things that when added up, can make quite an impact.

A few weeks had passed and Shonda’s family came for a visit. Ranae, Jeff (Shonda’s stepfather), and their three youngest daughter’s; Tabatha, Charissa and Sabrina made the trek from rural Kentucky to the metropolitan area of suburbia St. Louis. They all filed into the home and Chris and Shonda gave them the grand tour.

“This is the master bedroom,” Chris stated. “It was actually an addition to the house. When we go outside later I’ll show you the posts that it actually rests on. It’s kind of like one of the houses on stilts you see on beaches.”

He continued on with the smaller bedrooms, and the girls “oohed” and “awed” at Savannah’s purple and white Princess room. He took them down into the finished basement and showed them where he ultimately was going to put his big screen TV. And then led them back upstairs to show the hard wood floors in the living room and finally the kitchen.

“And this,” Chris said with grandiose flair, “is the latest addition to our family.” He pointed directly at the brand new side by side and stood back to bask in the glow of their jealousy.
Needless to say, they all showed how impressed they were (whether they meant it or not, he didn’t care). He even went so far as to demonstrate all of its features and made Ranae a fresh glass of filtered ice water.

She gladly accepted it and took a long drink as Chris looked on. Then without warning, her face went pale as she lunged towards the kitchen sink. She spit out the ice water and then dumped the rest of her glass. She was making gagging sounds and flailing her arms about.
Chris, looking at her in horror and confusion, demanded to know what was wrong. He was scared that there may be something wrong with the water.

“That was awful!” Ranae replied. His mother-in-law had a tendency to overreact to most situations and this one was no different. “What the heck’s the matter with that stuff? And what’s that taste?”

“Do you mean the taste of fresh filtered water?” Chris intoned as sarcastically as he possibly could. He was beginning to get offended by her behavior.

“That stuff is horrible,” Ranae continued. “Does all city water taste like that?”

Ranae and Jeff, made their home in a tiny little town in rural Kentucky. And while it was a far cry from the images of Appalachia from the movie “Deliverance” that you may have in mind, it wasn’t too far off. They lived in a small trailer that was just down the road from Jeff’s mechanic job. They managed to barely make ends meet with what Jeff brought home and what the state supplemented them with via food stamps, etc.

Their living situation often involved various automobiles in the yard along with assorted run-down appliances. There were also the multitude of family “pets” which included dogs, cats, chickens, and even a few raccoons. The interior was a hodgepodge of all the things that they had accumulated over the years, and they could never seem to get rid of any of it. They driveway was dirt, they had been know to “borrow” electricity from a nearby neighbor and yes, they got their water from a well.

“Not all city water tastes like that,” Chris retorted. “And besides, it’s not city water. It’s filtered water.”

To satisfy himself, he made himself a glass. First he sniffed it and then took a drink.

“Ranae, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this water,” he said.

“I tell ya what,” she said, “they next time we come up, I’m gonna bring ya some of that good well water from home.”

“Really? That's not necessary." Chris said.

“Yep.” Ranae continued, “and then we can compare the both of them.”

“Fair enough,” Chris said.

The rest of the visit continued without incident. They said their goodbye’s, made plans for a Thanksgiving visit, and the Kentucky folks returned home.

Life went on for the next few months. The seasons changed from summer to fall, and from fall to winter. Ranae and Jeff were outside by an open fire, enjoying the contrasting warmth of the fire and the crisp night air of early winter. They were busy crushing aluminum cans and bagging them up in preparation for their trip back to the city. They already had several bags filled and they were headed off to the recycle place in the morning to trade their cans in for some gas money. When they had crushed the last can, they sat around for a little while longer.

“Well momma,” Jeff finally said. “We should probably call it a night. We gotta get up early, you know?”

“Yep,” she answered back. “I’m just going to go in and get a few things ready.”

They woke up early and Jeff drove the cans to the recycle place to collect their bounty. While he was gone, Ranae was busy waking up the girls and packing the last few items they would need for the road. She always brought food with her, just in case. She had packed a cooler full and was busy finding any tiny crevice of room that may be left for some beers and sodas she found in the fridge. Jeff pulled back down the driveway honking the horn and shouting “Let’s get a move on!”
Ranae hurried the girls out while Jeff came in and got all the heavy stuff. They were all piled in the car and Jeff started to pull back up the driveway.

“Wait!” Ranae shouted and opened her door.

Jeff swore and slammed on the brake. “What’s the matter with you woman!” he demanded.

“I forgot something,” she said and ran back in the house.

Jeff sat impatiently in the car and was growing more agitated by the moment. He hated making this long trip anyway, and right now he just wanted to get it over with. The seconds seemed like hours and he was on the verge of honking the horn when the front door of the trailer came open and Ranae came back outside. She was carrying something, but he couldn’t make out what it was. He decided it wasn’t worth the effort to try and find out, and put the car in drive.

They arrived later that day at Chris and Shonda’s house, and were greeted with hugs and kisses. Savannah, their oldest child, flew into her grandmother’s arms almost the second she stepped out of the car. They all went inside and visited for a while. Then Jeff and Ranae went back out to bring their stuff in.

Chris was in the kitchen preparing the evening meal when Ranae entered and sat an old milk jug down on the counter. Chris eyed it with hesitant curiosity. It was so old it was beginning to turn yellow, and it had a peculiar rust color along one side. He couldn’t quite make out what was inside, so against his better judgment, he asked about the contents of the jug.

“It’s some of that good well water, silly.” Ranae laughed at him and slapped him on the shoulder.

“I told you I was gonna bring ya some, didn’t I?”

Chris had completely forgotten about the gagging incident a few months before. He stared at Ranae with a helpless look on his face. “You didn’t have to bring that, Ranae,” he said. “Our water is just fine.”

“I just want you to try it. If you don’t like it then fine,” she said.

“Fine,” Chris gave in. Knowing how stubborn Ranae could be he decided that he should just get it over with.

He opened a cabinet and took down a glass. Ranae opened the jug and handed it to him. Chris winced as he caught his first whiff of this acrid water that had been kept in the hideous jug for who knows how long. “Are you sure it’s fresh?” he quipped.

“Just poured it this mornin’,” she replied.

He sighed and poured the liquid into his glass. On a whim, he held the glass up to the light and could immediately see tiny dark specs floating in it. By this time a crowd had gathered around them in the kitchen to watch this small contest of wills. Chris tried to summon all his strength and will to take a sip, but again his eye caught a tiny fleck suspended in the glass. It was mocking him, almost daring him to take a drink. So he did the only thing left to do...