May 12 '01 Volume 258 Gutter Guards Skeptics Remain
This is a story about gutters,
gutter When Barbara and I purchased our first house in Pontotoc back around 1973 there were no gutters to keep the rain from drenching our front-door guests, during a downpour. However, when we enclosed the carport, we had gutters installed on the front and back of the house. As our maples and pines matured, falling leaves accumulated in the gutters and had to be cleaned rather frequently to keep the drains unclogged. A few years later, I embarked upon a do-it-yourself project and installed a plastic mesh covering on the gutters to prevent the accumulation of leaves in the gutters. They did a decent job with leaves, but single-winged maple seeds clogged the mesh, and pine needles found a way to adhere themselves to the same mesh surface. Cleaning the mesh each year was more trouble than had been involved in the semi-annual gutter cleanings prior to my installing the mesh. One day, while leafing through a discount magazine, one specializing in discontinued products and returned merchandise, I read with considerable interest of a new vinyl "gutter guard" product that an enterprising do-it-yourselfer could install. It employed a stair step design that reportedly allowed all the water running off a roof to enter the gutter but prevented leaves, pine needles, and such from becoming lodged in the gutter or the gutter guard. Intrigued, I bought enough of the three-foot panels to cover the gutters on the front side of the house. They were easily installed. In fact my niece, Felicia, did most of the work as I helped with the project. I had more than a little skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the guards, particularly whether of not they would catch all the water running off the roof. Yet, after observing how they had no trouble handling the rainwater during a major downpour, I felt perhaps they might live up to their billing. Sure enough, while leaves, pine needles, and maple seeds continued to present drainage problems on the backside of the house, the front remained trouble-free as long as we lived there. About the time we bought our house on Dogwood Circle, I heard Felicia telling how she had to rescue Tommy Patterson who had stranded himself on his roof while trying to clean out the gutters. Tommy, whose house overlooks the circle, had managed to knock down his aluminum ladder after he climbed onto the roof. Felicia was "into" walking then and was walking though the neighborhood when she heard someone call her name from a wooded area. Through the treetops she spotted Tommy signaling her for help. I think I remember that this particular rescue was the second incident in which Tommy had found himself up a roof without a ladder. Upon hearing of Tommy's plight I introduced him to the gutter guards I had bought for our old house. I remember taking him a scrap of the material I had left over from my project and explained how much work they would save him on an annual basis. I didn't have a catalog at the time, but I told him the name of the catalog company and explained I'd keep an eye out for one. That was about two years ago, and as far as I know Tommy didn't find any gutter guards. Earlier this year, I was flabbergasted to see another neighbor, Billy Montgomery, high upon the roof of his two-story house with a water hose busily about the task of cleaning out gutters. Billy is a few years my senior, and I was concerned about his safety upon a high and steep roof. I stopped to chat with him and admire his seeming lack of fear of height. A few weeks ago, I had been working on Sarah's back lot, when I saw Billy up a ladder on the back of his house, again cleaning out a gutter. Stopping to rest, I walked over to his place, which adjoins Sarah's property, and we rested and talked for a spell on his deck. I explained the virtues of gutter guards and recommended the type I had once purchased. Yet, I recounted my inability to locate any when I had tried to sell Tommy Patterson on the idea. Billy said he'd be interested, if I came up with a supplier. Just over two weeks ago, it occurred to me I might find a supplier on the Internet; after all you can find almost anything on the Internet. I cranked up the "Google" search engine and sure enough the manufacturer's name popped up, and they had a website www.permaflow.com. I browsed the site and found everything I wanted to know except the price of the product. Yet, following a telephone call, I had the price and shipping information. I printed out a copy of the information and gave it to Billy Montgomery weekend before last. He said he was going to order enough to test on his highest gutter, the one on the north end of his house and if satisfied he'd guard all the gutters, similarly. I fully intend to install the gutter guards at my house, but when I measured the linear footage of the gutters of my two houses (main house/ guesthouse), I was surprised the total was approximately 310 feet. The cost of the entire project will ruin a $500-bill, so I’ll probably have to spread the project over a few years, as it is not a high priority item on my budget. I don’t know if Billy will commit to purchasing the gutter guards or not as he seemed skeptical about the gutters being kept free of pine needles. Additionally, he’s probably waiting to see how they work on my present house. I have enough confidence in the gutter guards to recommend them, but I can’t guarantee them. However, based on prior experience, I’m convinced they will do the job. Persons like Max Akins are unknowingly encouraging me into early retirement. I am about ready to establish a new business in Pontotoc just to prove the usefulness and reliability of the Perma Flow gutter guards. I figure a guy could make a tidy profit installing them. Max Akins invited me over to his house, as we spoke to each other in the foyer of First Baptist Church last Sunday, to help clean up his yard which is filled with magnolia leaves. I declined his hospitable offer, but somehow guttering came up in the conversation. Max refused to believe a gutter guard existed that would keep out pin oak leaves, or as he put it, "If water can pass through it, then those pin oak leaves will clog it up!" Realizing I had little chance of convincing him without a sample of the product I was describing, I excused myself to attend to my usher duties. I have a lot of respect for Max’s intellectual abilities and admire his financial smarts, but I’d surely love to see him eat his skeptical words. Plus, I think I would enjoy hearing him say, "You told me so."
Letter Writing Friend Shares Family Memory I was reminded again last week of one of the reasons I began a newsletter. A senior in our fair community of Pontotoc had read the article that ran about Louise Wilson last year and called me to find out how she could subscribe to this newsletter. As we talked, I explained that I was trying to do my part to revive the dying art of letter writing, in that I had begun to write. She seemed undeterred in her quest to receive this newsletter, even by my confession to having recently had difficulty in finding suitable material and subject matter to share with readers. So, I relented and agreed to add her to the mailing list and explained I would send her a few of the recent back issues to get her up to speed with other subscribers. My efforts in stimulating others to write have been less successful than that for which I once hoped, but several readers have contributed a memory or two and in so doing have helped break some of the monotony of this writer’s musings. The most recent book written by Callie Young of Pontotoc was a book of devotions. In one of the devotions she revealed a writing practice shared by a large family who once made Pontotoc their home. Reverend Herbert Howell and his wife, Coy, raised something on the order of a dozen children on the limited income of a country preacher. Mrs. Young related that as the Howell family became scattered, with the children growing up and leaving the nest, they often communicated via a circular letter passed among the family from the eldest to the youngest then back to the parents with each one adding something to the original letter. Intrigued with the idea, I wrote to Gwen Howell Cottrell and asked her to elaborate on the circular letter of her family. In her reply, one can easily see that Gwen is practiced in the art of letter writing. "Yes, just as Callie said, we did do correspondence by mail over a period of years. At times it worked better than others. When the large envelope came with all the letters, that sibling would remove their old letter, put another in the manila envelope and mail it to the younger brother or sister. Reading the letters was a delightful experience because there were details about family members, achievements, activities, cute things about the nieces and nephews, pictures, and even the unexpected events, trips, or adventures which they shared. So, often it would get stalled at one person's house. When completing the cycle, the original letter contained year-old information, thus nullifying the significance of the letters. Telephone calls were not as prevalent then. And, just think, to get around to calling each family member each month would have meant a large long distance phone bill. There were no free, long distance, cell phone minutes, not even 5-cents a minute calls. Mom and Dad were not the best of communicators in passing on information about one family to another. As they received calls from children they rarely shared the news with another child who might call. They just didn't think of it, or maybe it was just too much to keep up with. It wasn't intentional. Sometimes Dad would make copies of an informative newsletter to send to each of us. The telephone has become the best way to talk to an individual member to get an interactive response. It gives you the complete focus of that individual, not competing with all others at the same time. The computer helps some, but it doesn't require action, are response. Gerard, Don, Stan and Dottie, and I do enjoy sharing things via email. Some just don't look at their email, or if they do, I may never know. To get an email from the rest it has to be directed to that individual requesting specific information. It is like business to them, not chatting. Val usually sends what he considers inspirations. Occasionally, Janette has time to write a letter. She is home-schooling three of her children who are still at home and now she has added Tracy's two babies to the crew. Janette is over 50 and is still dealing with babies on a full time basis. Phenomenal, don't you think? Now this is what we have worked out in the family caring and communication area. This year "my family" is Conrad's family. Next year, I will have the next youngest sibling's family, which is Myra's. After Myra, there is Jerry, then I go to the eldest which is Gerard. The following year I skip myself, of course, and Don's family becomes "my family." This cycle goes on-and-on for each member of the family. Why this way? If Conrad's family is my focus, then I can remember all their birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, graduations, and just call and chat a bit to keep up with their lives. Also, this gives me one family for which to buy Christmas gifts. As we move on through the other families, that means that we get an opportunity to treat each family special over a period of years. We used to draw names, and we often got the same families, yet never got others. So this plan gives us an opportunity to focus on expressing love, care, concern,...to each at some time. It's working! One more thing I'll share tonight. Every three years we have set aside a specific week, or three days, for a family reunion. Each family can start planning to get time off from work, and reserve that time to be at the reunion. It was in Pontotoc until Dad passed away. The past two times we have had it at the Iuka State Park in Mississippi. The cabins have worked nicely and the older kids have had fun skiing and fishing. The three-year stretch gives families opportunities for vacations, visiting in-laws, etc. Siblings are scattered over the states of Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia. (Don just moved from Arkansas to Hattiesburg.) A scheduled plan has been great. Thus far, there has been fantastic participation. This past November, all but two of the families got together for a Thanksgiving celebration. The nieces and nephews are now dating and bring dates around the family. Dad started the reunion spirit, and it has continued. I count it as a blessing and as a prayer of Mom and Dad's that is still being answered each time we gather, support, and share with one another. Though Mom and Dad were not blessed monetarily, there is a spirit of love that continues to live. It is worth it to us to work through differences and to continue to keep the family bond. Remember, all harmony takes work."
Bodock Beau Ponder This Of those who love the philosophy of hypocrisy and ambiguity, many consider the humor of George Carlin with high regard. However, much of Carlin's work is "R" rated. The following quotes were chosen from a lengthier list contributed by Dusty Parker. George Carlin Quotes
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Lastly, this is the reason men do not make good baby sitters…submitted
by Bing
Crausby.
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guards to be precise. It has nothing to do with the curbing and
channeling of water from a street into a drainage system or any mechanism
to restrict the flow of said water. It's not even about the use of temporary
railings along the sides of a wooden lane in order to prevent bowling balls
from entering a trough. Neither is this article about the white space formed
by the inner margins of two facing pages, like that found in a book. Lastly,
this is not about dealing with a type of offensive language. Instead this
article is about guards to keep leaves and/ or other organic debris from
clogging the downspouts and gutters of one's house.
