A Lesson Hard Learned

When I got back from Minnesota early this week, I discovered that I had brought some of the Northwoods back with me, in the faint odors of dead deer, rotting leaves and skunk emanating from my dog. So I decided to give Morgan a nice, long bath on Monday morning. Unfortunately, as the dog hair and Northwoods grime drained away, my bathtub got hopelessly clogged. I poured what little Drano I had into the tub, but nothing happened after an hour of waiting. I went to Kmart and got another bottle, but still nothing. Finally, Monday night, I went back to Kmart and bought every flavor of Drano available, the gel, the foam and the crystals. At this point, my bathtub was a scalding toxic stew, but still the clog held.

A little late in the game, I decided to read the binder my condo inspector gave me about home maintenance, and it suggested that chemicals like Drano should never be used for a clog (given that they rarely work and are very toxic) and suggested using an auger instead. I went to Home Depot, bought the $25 auger, and cleared the drain.

It reminds me of the ancient Chinese proverb:

The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm.
The Tao of the sage is work without effort.