The Old Man and His Pillow Factory

Once I met a man who had worked for many years for a fire sprinkler company in the Los Angeles area. I asked him about memorable experiences and he told me about the pillow factory.

A business man in his younger year wanted to make pillows, so he had a factory built and a sprinkler system was installed in case of fire. The sprinklers were duly installed through the factory and word was given to the local water district to make the connection.

More than thirty years passed and the man telling the story had become an inspector, routinely checking the gauges at the many installations for his company.

On his routine check of the pillow factory, he read the gauges and they were reading properly. But he was suspicious of something, so opened the line. Air rushed out and the gauge dropped to zero. What could be wrong?

He traced the lines back to the water connection and saw that it had never been hooked up. The now-white-haired owner of the factory had lived all of these year believing that his business was protected from fire, and it hadn't been at all.

Probably the original installers had pumped air into the system to check it for leaks so the gauges read correctly, but the water had never been connected.

The inspector telling the story said that he called the water district to report the problem and they said they would be out next month. After he explained their failure thirty years ago and that they would be liable if there was a fire, their crews arrived in a few minutes to make the proper connections.

I thought, how many people live their lives with a religious delusion that they are protected, when they have never been hooked up to the system. The gauges read right, so they have not investigated further.

Lois' Brothers Soldier On

Darrell Reyman is recovering his strength and beginning to "keep his appointed rounds." Life is returning to normal for him and he will soon take his turn on the preaching schedule with the Church at Las Vegas. John Racine has been guiding the ship.

Rodney Reyman has made progress and is at home, although with restrictions. But he's again focusing on the world around him. He called me last night about his concerns for someone else.

When we get into the stratospheric ages of 70 and above, we can expect a little bumpy air. I attended the funeral of an old fellow Saturday and noticed that I was in the first grade the year he was born.

Imogene, Harold Reyman's wife, has discovered serious health issues. She's working with her doctor today to see if there is a solution.

Since our bodies weren't designed to last forever in their present state, we expect declining health. Lois and I are staying focused on our life goals as long as we can and when declining health interferes with our projects, we'll find a project for the Lord that meshes with our ability.