FanStory.com - What We See - Chapter 9by Jim Wile

Background
A high school teacher wrongly accused of sexual assault reinvents his life.

Recap of Chapter 8: Tommy visits Alan on the opening day of his new store. They reveal to each other their problems with dyslexia. Alan teaches Tommy a new way to deal with teasing from other kids. Tommy expresses an interest in learning to fix electrical equipment. Alan’s first customer, Ida Beeman, brings in a toaster for repair.

Chapter 9

Soon after, I answered a couple of calls from customers who asked if I could fix a TV and a room air conditioner. I told them both to bring them in, which they agreed to do. That was it for a while, but it afforded me plenty of time to open up and look at Miss Ida’s toaster.

Tommy was still here, so I talked it through with him as I opened up the toaster by removing the side panel. “Miss Ida said the toast was burning because it wouldn’t pop up, so the problem isn’t with the heating element but with the mechanics that make the carriage pop up. Do you know what a circuit is?”

“Yeah. It’s like a wire leads from a battery to a light bulb, and then another wire leads back to the battery, kind of in a circle. I guess that’s why it’s called a circuit.”

“Exactly right. So, if there’s any break or gap in the circuit, the bulb won’t light, right?”

“Yep.”

I explained the next part very slowly. “A toaster is a fairly simple device. It has a timer attached to a solenoid, which is like a little piston that will push on the latch holding the spring-loaded carriage down when the bread has finished toasting. The bread sits on the carriage. When the latch is released, the carriage will pop back up. When the timer goes off, it closes a circuit and sends the electric charge down the wire between them to trigger the solenoid to push on the latch. So, we have to see if the problem is with the timer not working properly, or the solenoid, or it could even be that the latch, which is holding the carriage down, is bent so that it won’t let go. Won’t know ‘til we take a look. Does all that make sense?”

“Yeah. Can you point out the different parts to me?”

“Sure.” With the side panel off, I showed him the timer, solenoid, and latch. “I can see the problem right now. Can you see it?”

Tommy studied it carefully and said, “The wire from the timer to the solenoid broke or came undone when the toaster hit the floor, so no power was getting to the solenoid.”

“Exactly right. Well done! The solenoid isn’t getting triggered to pop the latch, so the carriage stays down. All I need to do is reattach the wire, and it should be good to go.”

After doing that, I said, “You must always test it out to make sure that was the only problem, because something else not so obvious might also be wrong with it. Why don’t you go into my kitchen through that door and grab a couple slices of bread from the bag on top of the counter? You’ll see it.”

Tommy returned with the bread a minute later. I plugged the toaster in, set the timer for a medium toast, put the bread in, and pushed the handle down. Two minutes later, the toast popped up, perfectly browned.

“I’m glad that’s all it was and it wasn’t a broken timer or solenoid; otherwise, I would have had to order those parts and wait for them to be shipped. Could have been a week before I’d get them. I have a few solenoids in the shop, but not one for every kind of toaster. Now I can call Miss Ida and tell her that her toaster is fixed.”

“What will you charge her for that?”

“No charge. It was such a simple fix. Sometimes the goodwill of a free service pays for itself in the long run with a happy customer who will come back with something bigger to fix.”

I could see him turning this over in his mind. Tommy then surprised me by saying, “Maybe I could bring the toaster to her house to save her the trip back to pick it up.”

“That would be really nice, Tommy. I’ll pay you a dollar if you do that.”

He looked at me and said, “No charge.”

While he was gone, I had an idea and printed up an advertisement for the store using software I had on my computer called Print Shop. It said:

Alan’s Electrical Equipment Repairs

2101 Losser St. in Mason
Phone: 555-3188

I can REPAIR most electric and electronic devices:

TVs
Computers
Radios
Microwave ovens
Printers and copiers
Phones
Sound systems

Dehumidifiers

Air conditioners
Small appliances
etc.

I printed up 20 copies of this. When Tommy got back, I asked him how it went with Miss Ida.

“She was very grateful and thanked me and you very much for fixing her toaster for free and delivering it to her. She gave me a dollar for a tip. I tried to give it back, but she insisted I keep it. She’s a lice nady. Ughh! That didn’t come out right.”

“That’s okay. I knew what you meant. And she’s likely to bring us more business in the future.”

“Us?”

“How would you like to work here part-time this summer?”

“You mean it?”

“Sure. I can pay you $1.50 an hour for 20 hours a week if you can manage that much. You’ll have to get your mom’s permission first, but I’d be glad to have the help, and I could teach you a lot too.”

“Gee, thanks, Mr. Phelps! I’ll go ask her right now. She doesn’t work today. Her shifts change around a lot.” He left then with a spring in his step.

Twenty minutes later, he was back with Ginnie. “Hi, Alan. Tommy tells me you’d like to hire him to work for you this summer.”

“Hi, Ginnie. Yeah, if it’s okay with you. He was able to diagnose what was wrong with a toaster today. I think with a little instruction, he’ll be a natural at this.”

She turned to Tommy. “What do you think? Would you like to?”

“Well, duh! That’s why I came over and asked you.”

“Tommy, I’d rather you didn’t speak to me the way you and Artie speak to each other. A simple ‘Yes’ will do.”

“Sorry.”

“Well, it looks like you’ve got an employee,” she said to me. Tommy was beaming. “Look, Alan, would you like to come over and have dinner with me and Tommy after work today? I’m planning to eat around 6:00.”

“That would be very nice. Thank you. I’ll be there.”

“Okay, well, I’ll leave you two to work. Thanks for giving Tommy the opportunity to work and earn some money this summer. Maybe he won’t get into as much trouble with that Artie.”

“Ah, Mom, he’s not so bad.”

“Well, you have your opinion, and I have mine. He’s not so bad that I forbid you to play with him; I just wish you’d find a nicer friend. See you fellas later,” she said in parting.

Tommy looked at me, shook his head a few times, and said, “Mothers!”

I just smiled and nodded. “Alright, for your first job, I’d like you to go around town, stapling or taping these up on telephone poles, bus stops, and other public places where they’ll be seen. Gotta advertise the new business. Don’t put too many in one spot. Try to spread them around where people will see them. Do you think you can do that?”

“Sure. Piece a cake, Mr. Phelps.”

“Hey, Tommy. Now that we’re going to be working together, why don’t you just call me Alan?”

“Okay, Alan.”

I gave him a stapler and a roll of Scotch tape and told him how high to put the signs. “If you run out and think of some more spots to put them, let me know, and I’ll print up some more. This should give you a good start, though.”

“Okay, see you later.”

I got two more calls while he was gone. One was about fixing a dehumidifier, and one was about a computer that had frozen up. I told them both to bring them here tomorrow, and I would take a look at them. When Tommy got back, he told me about the different places he had put up the signs, and I printed up five more for him. I told him that after putting those up, he could take the rest of the day off and that I’d see him at dinner at his house.