Won't be fooled again--Part 5

My usual nature tends to keep me in a self-deluded state, one in which I see myself as a smart, handsome and capable young man with thick hair and a chiseled jaw. But my anti-nature is always there, waiting for me on the edges, waiting for me to give up and admit that I'm a complete fraud with a gray beard and in need of a nap, convinced that I Really Can't Do anything.

And in my frustration about having several power outlets dead, I was imagining crazy squirrel wire-biters again, even though I went through that phase once before. But now they're back, these insane rodents with tattoos, a bad attitude and a death-wish compulsion for biting into live electrical wiring. I can see them handing the wires back an forth, spitting and cussing and daring each other to take a bigger bite.

On the phone, my brother offered a more reasoned approach. He said to find the outlet or device closest to the circuit box, then test from there. The closest device is a light dimmer. A light went off in my head--surely the dimmer is the culprit. So in a flash, the squirrels are gone from my mind. It's the dimmer, of course. I knew it...

The light dimmer is behind an old library card catalog that we use to store napkin holders and silverware and the innumerable food-related nicknacks that Cheryl has collected. To move it is difficult because our dog Buddha (may he RIP) chewed off one of the legs, so we have it propped up on an old stool.

Anyway we pulled the card catalog away from the wall and I unscrewed the cover plate off of the light dimmer. "Shouldn't you turn off the power?" Cheryl asked, even though there clearly was no power going to this switch.

More later...