In the fall we shut down the cooler perched on our roof. For the last few years, no Alex—cheerful and efficient—who we love. Men have declined this job because our Victorian roof is too steep. Alex scaled it for years. We once held our breath while he clambered up there in a mist of rain, dismissing our suggestion to reschedule. Now he does more supervising than labor, his English better than that of the rest of the crew.
Our steep roof, in midst of replacement by Mexicans, of course, 2016
This fall, his brother Cruz arrives with Ignacio, a short guy who sports a permanent grin. Alex trained both of them in previous seasons. Their English is limited. They’re scheduled at 9, arrive at 7:50 as we are finishing breakfast. They always come early, Phil says. It is true. Every spring to start the evap cooler up; every fall, to shut it down, they are early.
What is the thing that needs replacing? La banda elástica, Cruz says and then I get stupid trying to find the English word to explain it to Phil. Not a cord, not a rope, the thing that goes around— The belt? he asks. Oh thank God, yes, the belt, I sigh, grateful for my husband’s English vocabulary. I have trouble sometimes, transitioning from one language to the other.
Ignacio tells Cruz ella habla español muy bien and I protest no es la verdad and they laugh. Maybe not, Ignacio replies but your intonación is good. Intonation is a feature of how we speak, the rise and fall, the cadence, and that’s part of it, but Ignacio also means accent, means I have a good ear.
Nodding, I start, mucha gente no puede pronunciarlo…then drift off, but they get it, agree enthusiastically. White people, we mean, but do not say. Americans. Even if they know Spanish, their pronunciation—oh, dear. Duele las orejas. It hurts the ears, I say, wondering if I should have said oídos instead.
But they laugh again. Ignacio always nudges me to speak Spanish, likes being able to communicate with me a little. Among all the clients they see, I’m a novelty to him. During this discussion they have put up the ladder and gathered their tools.
They are up on the precipitous roof in no time, then into the attic to get the cooler cover they stored there last spring, then down to the basement to shut off the water. Back on the roof to replace the filter and the banda elástica. Bing, bang and done by 8:45 and on to the next one. They’ll be early to appointments all day.
This crew works for About Saving Heat, who installed our evaporative cooler many years ago and still service it now.
I love this window into the sweetness of this twice-a-year conversation. Your writing intonation is, as always, a treat.
I may ask you for their info again in the summer when we turn ours on again. I hate Geof getting up on the roof at his age but he still insists! Happy ho ho!
My father was a plumber, and now I have a plumber down the block who I call whenever I need him. My mechanic is close enough I can drop off my car and walk home. It’s so important to have trusted, skilled help. What would we do without them? Amazon? Yeah, right.