Iannuccilli: Dad Handles the Asbestos
Monday, September 30, 2019
Some years ago, we lived in a large, old house on the East Side of Providence. As is wont to happen in old houses, things broke and this late particular winter, it was our boiler. It cracked and sprung a leak.
Because we lived in a rather large home, we needed a boiler large enough to heat it, and this baby was huge. The plumber estimated that it would cost quite a bit to replace it. “I just can’t carry it out in one piece from this cave of a cellar. I have to disassemble it and reassemble the new one. It will take a while to get the parts. I can pour some oatmeal in the burner to get you through the rest of the winter.”
“Oatmeal? Are you crazy? I’ll wait.” When I heard the final price, I nearly cracked like a boiler.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Oh, and by the way, one other thing.” Uh, oh, here comes more.
“Ya got asbestos lining this place and it needs to be removed. I can’t do it. Ya need an expert asbestos removal company. And that’s gonna cost ya.”
Oh dear. I called the asbestos removal company who estimated the cost at two thousand dollars. “Are you kidding?” I blurted. “The room is only ten by ten by ten.”
“Yeah, I know, but we have to put on these special white suits to remove it and then we gotta dispose of it the right way. And that ain’t cheap.” Stunned, I had little choice.
To be sure the boiler price estimate was correct, I called my father and asked him to bring his eighty-year-old retired plumber friend to check on the price. “Oh, and one other thing, Dad. We can’t do anything until I get the asbestos out, and that will cost.”
“OK, Ed. I’ll come by with Sal.” Why was every plumber I knew named Sal? In fact, many Sal’s prevailed in my life; Sal the barber, Sal the cleaner, Sal the cook, now Sal the plumber.
I went home that evening, checked the cellar area only to find that the asbestos was gone. The walls were bare. The space was ready for a new boiler. What!? I called my father. “Dad, did you come by today with Sal?”
“Yes. He thought that the price for the boiler was pretty good, and you should go ahead.”
“Thanks. But, but, where’s the asbestos?”
“The asbestos? Aw, we just ripped it all out. Those guys are nuts charging all that money just because they put on those silly suits.”
“That’s illegal. Are you guys nuts?”
“Forget it, Ed. We’re old. We’re not gonna get that cancer.”
“I understand that, Dad. But what did you do with the asbestos? It has to be disposed of correctly and safely.”
“They’re nuts (a common refrain of Dad’s when he disagreed with something) with that too. We just rolled it up and Sal took care of it when he got home.”
My goodness.
Ed Iannuccilli is the author of "Growing up Italian" and "What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner?" and "My Story Continues" can be found here.
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