I have a story to tell. And as the song says, there was a blessing "on the other side of through."

When we bought this house five years ago, that first Fall I wanted to turn off the outside faucets so the pipes wouldn't freeze in the winter. When this house was built, 50 odd (very odd) years ago, they finished the basement by building a second interior wall with about a 12-14 inch space between it and the foundation. It gave a nice finished look to the basement, but all the pipes are between the two walls. When I finally realized that the shut-off valves for the water were between the two walls, and I had to squeeze through a rough-cut panel that had been cut out for access, I started getting real nervous. When I removed the panel, the shut-off vale for the main water was about five feet in from the opening. It looked like the shut-offs for the outside lines were back there, too. My wife was upstairs, so I squeezed myself in between the wall studs and managed to get back to the shut-off valves. After I was back in there and could see better with a flashlight, I realized that the valves were all for lines in the bathroom, so I started to come back out. About half way out, I got thoroughly stuck between the outer wall and one of the studs. And visions of the Canterbury Ghost, walled in to die a miserable death came flooding through my mind. So, I sucked in my stomach (the best I could) and kept trying to squeeze a watermelon through a key hole.
The more I got wedged in, the more I panicked. Finally, with a great effort, I dislodged myself and crawled out into the light. I was really shaking with fear. And then I realized that I hadn't turned the lines to the bathroom sink back on. The thought of going back in there really freaked me out, and then I got an idea. I went in the garage and got my saber saw, drew a profile of my belly (just like Alfred Hitchcock used to fit into the line drawing on the tee vee program) and cut out a profile of my stomach. After I'd done that, I was able to squeeze back in relatively easily and shut off the valves. It was still a tight fit, but I was never in doubt that I could get back out.

That's the first blessing on the other side of through... and the other side of the washing machine. I'll tell you the second blessing on a separate screen.

Jerry