I'll Just Have The Water, Please

You know how nice it is to walk to the sink and turn the knob and the water comes out? Or how great it is to use the bathroom and push the handle down and the toilet flushes? Yeah, me too. For all of my frugal, do-it-yourself ways I just am at a loss when the water stops flowing up from the well and through the pipes into my kitchen and bathrooms. For the past couple weeks I have notice a change in our water. The pressure would come and go. Then everything would be fine. Sort of like when the lights flicker and you know it is probably a squirrel walking near a transformer somewhere in our grid. Last evening just as we headed out for church I was the last to flush, brush my teeth and wash my hands. As I finished washing my hands the water stopped. I came into the kitchen where Steve was waiting. Turned the knob and no water came out into the sink. It was 6:15 so I went to church and left Steve to see if he could fix the problem or identify exactly what the problem was. Was it the pressure tank in the cellar? Was it the pump itself? For heaven's sake was the well going dry? The preacher gave me a local name to call and see if he would come check it out. I stood in a sunday school room and dialed Steve on my cell and passed the information to him. Then I went into the sanctuary. My thoughts where not were they needed to be. I followed the sermon but kept looking at my watching silently urging him to be finished. Gracie has guitar lessons after church so I left her andbrought Steven home to find out if Steve had managed to solve our lack of water problem. He could do nothing. Surmised it was the pump. And had called a plumber to come out. The pump that had been pumping for 19 years. At 7pm on a Sunday night. I closed my eyes thinking about the weekend rates those people charge. The plumber came. Checked the power and pressure tank in the cellar. Killed the electricity and pulled the cap off my well. The brand new pump that I hope will pump for 19 years or longer as well. My well is not like everyone's well. It is not a pipe running out of the ground sitting in a little house. My well was hand dug in 1909. It is about 3 feet by 3 feet. It is stone lined. I could drop a bucket in and hoist up a bucket full of water. My well pump is a submersible pump. It is simply a piece of modern machinary suspended in the center of the well reaching from the top about 90 feet down into the pool of water. Lifting the well cap. For the first time we looked down into the well last night. In about two hours start to finish we had beautiful flowing water again. 98 years ago a man took a shovel and began to dig. He did not stop until he hit water nearly 100 foot below. I knew the bill would hurt. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. In the end it was worth it and then some to be able to turn the knob and water flow from the faucet. And the toilets will flush.