I was in the kitchen yesterday, broiling some hamburgers, when I suddenly heard a loud and steady hissing sound.
I tried to ignore it - thinking it was a figment of my paranoid imagination........but it was getting so loud that it definitely warranted an investigation.
The hissing was coming from the laundry area - and it sounded like rushing water. I immediately panicked Big Time, because that's where the main water valve is (I had to fix it several years ago due to a major leak)
I checked the valve and it seemed to be all right. I didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief - because the Source of Hissing (capitalized for dramatic emphasis) seemed to be coming from the Mysterious Black Box.
The Mysterious Black Box isn't a computer router, but it has something to do with my fiber optic telephone/computer connection.
My knowledge of technology is pathetically limited.
I instinctively pulled the plug on the box and tried to reset it - - but the hissing didn't stop.
Curiously, the hissing was accompanied by a strong smell - - sort of like a heavy metallic paint smell.
Instinctively gazing upwards - toward heaven - I looked at a shelf, located above the Mysterious Black Box.
Amazing discovery!
There was an old (very old) can of Rust-Oleum Epoxy Paint which had sprung a leak!
My Big Sigh of Relief was enormous. My psychotic imagination had been running rampant with other evil things.
So I took the hissing paint can outside (as it leaked all over my hands) and prayed that it wouldn't explode.
A happy ending.
One more thing:
When I first heard the hissing sound, I thought it might be a snake.
Some of my faithful readers (all two of you) might remember when I had snakes in the house.
This is the serpent that was on my bookshelf.
I've had three snakes in the house (not at the same time) since I first moved in here.
I removed two of them by hand.
Unfortunately, the snake on my bookcase got away......and I never found him!!!!!
That was about two years ago.
The unpleasant surprises in this cursed rural abode are absolutely limitless.
Cheers, Jon
