Small town life is frequently inconvenient. A few weeks ago, our refrigerator/freezer died. I was not worried, as we have a maintenance agreement. After a call and a small deductible, the appliance gets repaired. Simple, right? Not in Pixley. After a few days, the maintenance agreement company informed us that the authorized repair service center in our area did not respond to their attempts to contact. They would keep looking.
After two weeks without a refrigerator/freezer, My Taller Half and I purchased a mini-fridge. It even has a tiny freezer compartment and a teeny-tiny ice tray. The maintenance agreement company informed us that they finally found another authorized service center who would service a call here. Their first availability was in about three weeks.
Five weeks to repair a refrigerator, simply because there are no repair people nearby — or no authorized repair center nearby. There are people who do repair appliances who do not need help finding business. We could have gone to one of them, but I am stubborn and just a little frugal. I bought a maintenance agreement, and I do not want to spend more.
Okay, we did spend money on a mini-fridge, but if the power goes out, it’s easier to power a mini-fridge with a generator than a full-sized appliance. There is method to our madness. But mainly, I am stubborn. Plus — teeny-tiny ice!
It could be a lot worse. We have transportation. Pixley is the county seat and boasts a variety of fast food restaurants, Walmart, and two or three other grocery stores, so we won’t starve. We can buy a meal’s worth of groceries to cook — the oven still works. We have a small kitchen with no microwave and no dishwasher, so we tend to keep our meals simple on the best of days.
There are others in Small Town USA whose resources are far more limited. But in those circumstances, at least in towns like Pixley, neighbors pitch in to help. Our sweet next-door neighbor is helping us by taking some meds and a few of the more expensive, longer shelf-life items to store for us.
The reps from the maintenance agreement company were relieved that we are not outraged. We are philosophical. Inconvenience is part of the price of living in not-quite-paradise. We have learned that we cannot expect the same 24/7 service you get in large cities. We do not have 24/7 traffic and sirens, so we are satisfied. In a few weeks, when the refrigerator is fixed, My Taller Half has dibs on the mini-fridge.
What is an inconvenience to us could be a disaster to another family in less fortunate circumstances. Still, for those who love living in Small Town USA, the silver linings far outweigh the clouds.