subject: The Purified Waterman [print this page] The guy arrived maybe half an hour earlyThe guy arrived maybe half an hour early. I opened the door and he announced that he was from the purified water company, the waterman come to service our filtered water system. He was a young guyearly 20s or soand looked every bit the surfer: tanned, fit, dark hair bleached by the sun, and board shorts. He carried a toolbox and a metal invoice case. I hope Im not too early for you, he said.
I shrugged it off happily. The appointment window was 4 hours and I had begrudgingly assuming Id have to wait until the last minute for someone to show up. No, Im actually a little shocked, I said. Its sort of a clich that the guy shows up as late as possible.
Im trying to get done early, the waterman said, sounding a little excited as he walked in the door.
I tossed off the first thing that came to mind after sizing him up. Looking to catch the big swell coming in today? I asked.
He looked at me with surprise. How did you know?
Lucky guess. I was looking forward to the same swell. I didnt want to have to sit it out in my house waiting all day for the purified waterman to show up.
So I guess you surf, he said, sounding like a kindred spirit of a different waterman variety. Even his voice sounded a little salty for a kid.
Yeah, I said in pretty much the same tone though perhaps aged a bit more by the twenty years I had on him.
Where about? I thought you might have looked a little familiar.
Harbor Warm water Carlsbad all over really. Some buddies and I go to Mexico quite a bit.
Awesome.
We ended up talking about surfing the whole time he was there. It was obvious he had the sea in his blood even though he said was a transplant from Iowa. He was crazy about the water from childhood. He had all the makings of a watermanand it seemed a bit funny that water was his job.
Oh, this job, he said. I guess Im the all-around waterman. It was a toss-up between this or servicing swimming pools. I picked this because I think Id have a hard time not jumping into the water all the time.
I laughed. We talked a minute or two more and he was done.
Well, thanks for being a valued customer They want me to say that.
Well, I guess Ill see you down at the beach a bit later.
