Several years ago, we used a satellite service for television. When we first subscribed to this service, we were unable to get our local channels. I wasn’t interested in dealing with all of the processes that were necessary to get network feeds from New York and Los Angeles. We had no antenna and lived far enough away from any city where we might be able to pick up any networks so we went without for about 3 years. The only network we could get was ABC but we were far enough out of town that it didn’t come in very clear. At the time, our children were very young and their interests dictated a lot of what we watched. We didn’t feel that we were missing that much on network TV. This was at the same time that Survivor was starting out and was a big hit. It didn’t sound like anything that would appeal to me. It was a rare occasion when I really missed having the networks. Finally, the satellite TV provider started offering local channels and we were eligible to receive the ones from Memphis. We immediately added them to our package. It was at the first of the year when the NFL playoffs are on every weekend. I didn’t realize how much I had missed professional football. The first Sunday after we added the networks to our satellite package, I came home after church, turned on a game on TV and went to sleep on the couch. I hadn’t napped that good in 3 years.
A couple of weeks later on a Sunday afternoon, I was napping again on the couch during a game. Our doorbell rang. My wife and oldest children were not at home and my youngest daughter answered the door before I was even off the couch. She was probably about 5 years old at the time. She came and told me that someone at the door wanted to see me. It was an older lady that lived in the house next door. Our neighbor’s house had a mother-in-law suite. We didn’t know these neighbors that well. They were older than us and didn’t have kids at home. I recognized this lady as the mother-in-law. She asked if I could come over and check the heat at her house. She said her apartment was extremely hot and she didn’t know what to do. I told her that I would come and check it out. I put on some shoes and walked out the door following the lady from next door. My youngest daughter was following behind me. I expected her to close our front door. I heard the sound of her running through the yard to catch up with me but I didn’t hear the door close. I yelled back at her saying “Mary! Close the Door!” When I turned around, the old lady in front of me had ducked her head down reacting to my shout. Then she softly told me, “My name is Mary. I thought you were yelling at me.”
My daughter went back and closed the door, staying at home since the rest of the family was arriving at home. I went to Mary’s apartment and it was extremely hot. I checked the thermostat and it was set at the highest temperature possible. I think she was trying to compensate for the heat and didn’t really know which direction to move the thermostat. I moved it to the temperature that I thought it needed to be at. I asked her if she wanted me to leave the door open to let the room cool down or if she wanted me to turn on the air. She said to just leave the door open. I think she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to get it set back to where it needed to be. And she was afraid to come ask me again. She was afraid I would yell at her again.