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Transforming Lives: A Handymans Journey with a Reclusive Cartoonist

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As a handyman, every job comes with its unique challenges and innovative solutions. My first major gig, as it may have been, stands out not just for the work but for the profound impact on my life and the life of a reclusive cartoonist.

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From Muddy Water to Grey-Water Lakes

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One day, the internet revolution swept through, and people suddenly wanted more phone jacks. Thanks to my friend who set the stage for me, word of mouth took over, and I was booked for weeks. However, one job stands out among the rest. I had to crawl under a house, and as I did, I realized that the foundation of this house was basically a muddy water sink drain. The problem? The sink drain pipe was broken.

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The image of this client’s house from the outside was nothing compared to the reality inside. Water had accumulated, creating a lake-like feature under their house. It was standing water, and every day, they used the sink, adding to the mess. I worked around the water and fixed the issue, but it left me covered in mud. They were impressed with the quick and efficient job, and I was paid a modest amount, around 80 dollars. The work had been completed in just a few hours, but it took much longer than expected due to the unique situation.

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A Business and an Uncertain Future

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My husband and I had a thriving plumbing and handyman business that ran on word of mouth. We were booked every weekend, and our souls thrived on completing these jobs. However, one fateful incident changed the course of our lives. My husband was injured at work, which halted our business and forced us to give it up.

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But before our business collapsed, we were contacted by a client who needed our services for a reclusive relative living in the Hollywood Hills. The relative was a famous cartoonist who had worked for Disney and Hanna-Barbara. We knew we were going to face a unique challenge, as this man had some of the worst plumbing issues we had ever encountered.

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Challenging Plumbing Issues and Changing Perspectives

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The first thing we faced was his lack of a working water heater. The kitchen sink and disposal were clogged with a powdered plumbers drain cleaner, which, as a plumber, I warned him against using. It does nothing to clean your sink and only adds more dirt to the mix. His upstairs toilet and sink, along with his shower, were all non-functional. This was compounded by the fact that he was a hoarder and a smoker, making his house a haven of years of cigarette smoke.

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Despite the challenges, the client was one of the kindest men I had ever met. Outwardly grumpy, he was genuinely kind and hospitable. I broke the ice with him by showing him my lucky coin, a WWII Moroccan bronze 20 Francs coin. It has a double five-sided star etched on it and is emblazoned with ‘Empire Cherifien’ and ‘Maroc’. I liked it because of the connection to the movie Casablanca and its historical significance. I invited him to guess what it was, and we ended up chatting. As I worked through his plumbing issues, he started talking to us a lot more.

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The Transformation of a Life

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Our interactions evolved from a simple job into a friendship. He gifted me with two of his newer reissue books, signed to me, and assured me he wouldn’t sell them on eBay. To this day, I still have them almost two decades later. Each day, as we worked on his plumbing, he gave me a small sketch he was doodling on paper and a pen. His house was in a state of squalor, but we made it safer and more livable. He even allowed his grandchildren to come over, something he hadn’t done in years.

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We finished every plumbing job, and started on making his porch safer. However, my husband was severely injured and could not work for years. Despite the client owing us several hundred dollars, we never asked for payment. We felt like we had let him down, but the experience taught us not to judge people based on first impressions. The man had a heart of gold, but he was living in a house of memories, trapped from the day his wife died.

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Our influence helped him come out of his shell and revisit his cherished memories. It was like watching an untamed old rose bush finally blossom again. While I am sad to hear the cartoonist passed away a few years later, I am glad to have been part of this transformation. My work here was a labor of love, and money was the least of our concerns. In the end, this experience taught us the true value of human connections and the power of persistence in the face of adversity.

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Conclusion

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As a handyman, every job presents unique challenges. However, working with a reclusive cartoonist taught us invaluable life lessons. It highlighted the importance of seeing beyond surface impressions and the powerful impact we can have on someone's life through simple acts of kindness and persistence. The essence of our work is not just solving plumbing issues but transforming lives.

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Keywords

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Handyman, Plumbing Job, Reclusive Cartoonist