What Would Onkel Karl do?

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Diana Schwenk, family, funny, growing up, humour, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, laughter, life, Life's like that, memories, professionals, Relationships, repairs, vacuum

THIS PAST SATURDAY I was vacuuming the living room when the powerhead suddenly turned itself off. I turned the vacuum off and that’s when I noticed the Belt Protector Reset button. So I pushed it and turned the vacuum back on. It ran for a few seconds, then turned itself off again.

Maybe it’s clogged I thought. So I…

• checked the vacuum bag, and yeah it was full. I put in a new bag.
• spent an hour learning how to take the vacuum apart and checked all the hoses and bits for dirt. Clean as a whistle.
• I checked the brush roller thingy and it did not move. It was stuck. I noticed lots of hairs and fibers and tried to pull them out. No go – the roller brush thingy would not budge.
• So I tried to take the powerhead apart. On the flip side I read, “Flip powerhead and read manual for further instructions.

Manual?

I’d bought the vacuum secondhand. I have no manual. Not that I ever read them when I have them.

So there, I sat cross-legged on the kitchen floor.

What would Onkel Karl do?

Onkel Karl was an old friend of Dad’s. In fact they hung out together as teenagers in Wittenau, Berlin.

They did normal teenage things with about 52 other teenagers, or so I’ve been led to believe.

Cute things like lifting people’s cars over their pretty fences with cute little walk-through gates .

There was no way these car owners could get their cars out of their yards without taking their fences down.

Yeah cute things. They did cute things like that.

Years went by and Onkel Karl emigrated to Canada, as did my parents.

Upon the blessed event of my birth, Onkel Karl and Tante Stella were asked, and agreed, to be my Godparents.

I loved Onkel Karl.

I always thought he looked a little like Jackie Gleason, you know, the ‘to the moon Alice’ guy from that show The Honeymooners?

In fact, the only two men I loved back then were Dad and Onkel Karl. Onkel Karl had a trained German Shepherd. A would-be burglar could walk into his house, start loading stuff in his loot bag while dancing a jig, and good ole Rex would just lay there, barely even looking up.

But when the poor unsuspecting thief would try to leave, Rex would spring into action, pin him down, baring his teeth and holding him there until Onkel Karl got home.

I used to love visiting Onkel Karl and Tante Stella because they lived on 120 acres of land and there were lots of fun things to do. Onkel Karl taught Mike and I to drive his skidoo. Once while I was driving, I hit a bit of a bump and Onkel Karl went flying off the back of the Skidoo.

On his land, Onkel Karl also had a landing strip.

YUP, A LANDING STRIP!

He owned a 4-passenger plane and took us up for a ride every now and then. Once when I was about twelve, he let me take the controls – Woo Hoo!

As well as all of that, Onkel Karl was a businessman. He owned and operated a secondhand vacuum/repair shop. My parents always bought Mom’s favourite standup Hoover vacuums there.

So there I sat on the kitchen floor looking at the pieces of my vacuum and wondered what Onkel Karl would do.

And I swear I heard his voice telling me, “Take it to that vacuum repair place on 11th Ave and 14th Street.”

Reasonable advice I thought, especially since I don’t really have a good track record of being able to put stuff that I take apart back together…

…like that hot summer day when my floor fan died and I thought maybe I should clean it and sat on the living room floor cross-legged with a screwdriver and took it apart and there were so many pieces on the floor and I was unable to put it back together and it was so hot that sweat was dripping from my hairline and a blue cloud of cuss words escaped my mouth as I picked up the stupid fan pieces, put them in a stupid cardboard box  and carried them out to the stupid dumpster in the back and headed out to the store to buy a new stupid fan…

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Are you a Mr./Mrs. Fix It? Or like me, is it just best to call on a professional?

High River, Alberta – Still Rebuilding After The Flood

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Alberta, Calgary, Canada, caring, Carlson's, community, Diana Schwenk, High River, Hump Day Chronicles, life, living in the moment, rebuilding, repairs, Southern Alberta Floods 2013, Supporting local business

“I don’t think many people understand just how devastated High River still is from the flood.” ~ Rob L.

The above comment was left on my Facebook page when I posted this picture and somewhat facetiously wrote:

“I saw this deer in High River today. It made up for the fact that almost every store and restaurant was closed.”

Downtown High River felt like a Ghost Town when we pulled in on Sunday afternoon.

Granted it’s not unusual for stores and restaurants to be closed in the smaller surrounding towns outside of Calgary on Sundays.

But it was more than that.

There are quite a few empty storefronts along the main street with ‘For Lease’ signs on their windows.

And many establishments like Carlson’s Live Music venue are still doing renovations.

Don Carlson was outside on his bar’s patio working on something, when my friend Helga and I walked by and asked if there were any places open where we might grab a bite to eat.

He mentioned a few places and in response to my “Ghost Town” comment, began to explain how difficult it’s been for local business to get-up-and-running again since the flood.

“Some empty storefronts are even offering a year’s free rent on the condition a multi-year lease is signed,” he told us.

The flood that ravished southern Alberta hit in June 2013.

Here in Calgary, although there is still some evidence of damage caused by the flood, most repairs have been made.

High River has built berms and implemented other preventative measures, and business owners who can afford renovations are doing so, but many are still struggling.

Don invited us into his place. Renovations are coming along nicely and he showed off his new white Oak floor.

Don was adamant that his is one of the best music venues in Alberta and although he can have 120 people inside, he usually opts to have 90 – “makes it feel roomy and comfortable.”

And allows space for dancing, I enthused!

When I asked which genre of music he typically books, he told me there’s quite a bit of Jazz at his place – and I do love Jazz!

As we were leaving, Don invited us to ‘friend’ him on Facebook, thanked us for visiting and hoped that we’d return when Carlson’s is up and running again and other downtown businesses have recovered.

If you live in the area, why not connect with Don on Facebook here as well, to stay updated on their status – and you too can pay them a visit when they’re up and running again.

As for me? I’m pretty sure I’ll visit High River again to support Carlson’s and other local businesses.

I would like to say a special thank you to Don Carlson for his hospitality and taking the time to invite a couple of Calgarians into his place to share the goings-on of High River.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Do you believe in supporting local business? What is your favourite local business where you live?