Oct. 4, 2023, will live in infamy in our house. The proverbial bear that can ruin a day ran rampant. In a single day, our well quit, my computer took a major timeout and our 19-month-old refrigerator conked out.

The last column recounted that it took five weeks, but we now have running water again. My computer behaves most days. The tale of the dead refrigerator can finally be told.

It all started about 10 p.m. “Tom, there is no light in the refrigerator,” my wife, Carla, said. “Can you see if it tripped a breaker?”

No breaker tripped. So, I performed the most successful troubleshooting technique in the modern world. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. No luck.

Next, we consulted the user’s guide online. “Unplug it, wait five minutes, and plug it back in,” it read. Honest, I am not kidding! So, I did. Nothing.

Time for the repairman — trip one. After an hour, nothing.

More of the same

“It is likely in the control board,” he finally concluded. “I will order a new one.”

They must have made it in China and delivered it by Pony Express, because it took him two weeks to return.

“If it doesn’t work, I will call tech support,” he said. Fifteen minutes later, Carla heard him talking to tech support.

“The new board must be bad,” tech support told him. “We will send you another new board.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Carla heard him reply.

“Yes, it is,” tech support responded.

The next week, he was back for the third time. It didn’t take an experienced gamble to conclude “still not working” would be a safe bet.

Sure enough, nothing again!

“OK, enough,” he said.

The final chapter

That left us on the wrong end of another saying: Up a creek without a paddle. Before the repairman had come the third time, I had determined the refrigerator was out of warranty. It only came with a 12-month warranty.

“Isn’t there something else you can do?” I asked.

“Not really. It’s probably a short or broken wire somewhere, but I can’t get to it. You must pull off the entire cabinet.

“I will talk to the appliance store owner. He knows the company rep well. Maybe they can get you a new one.”

Yeah, right, I thought.

Carla tracked the store owner down the next day. A couple of days later, he called. “Mam, I have good news — you’re getting a new refrigerator … in six weeks.”

“Six weeks?” she shrieked.

“Best I can do.”

Six weeks later, a deliveryman knocked on the door with our new refrigerator.

Epilogue

Rather than a happy ending, Carla prefers to think of it as bittersweet. I call it a learning experience.

“I was a pioneer woman for 78 days without a refrigerator in my kitchen,” she laments. “Fortunately, we rejoined the modern age now.”

We survived 78 days because the old refrigerator that the original new one replaced is in the garage, still working at 25 years old. However, going to the garage for a glass of milk causes you to consider how badly you want the milk!

The kicker? All these refrigerators were made by the same company. If you do the math, yes, the new refrigerator that only lasted 19 months was made during the height of COVID-19.

Ding dong, that bear is dead! Long live our new refrigerator, model 2.0.