This Actually Happened – July 9th, 2011

My recent decision to switch from Comcast, back to DirecTV, reminds me of the first time a technician from the dish company came to install the satellite. The guy was from the Caribbean and he had a thick accent, I had to really focus in order to understand his English. I don’t remember his name, so I’ll call him “Barack.” [If you get through this without picturing the President, every time you hear his name, I will send you a check for 100 Billion Zimbabwe Dollars (ZWD)…don’t spend it all in one place!] For those of you who don’t know, the house is surrounded by trees, so the optimal location for a dish is on the roof. Barack wasn’t too happy about the spot, but he had no choice in the matter. There was a major problem involving access to the roof. A ladder had to be used, since the opening is in the hallway ceiling. The ladder, might I add, is wooden and from the 1970’s; it definitely added to the degree of difficulty. Did I mention that it was November, and I live in Boston; it was a particularly chilly day, and Barack didn’t have on any gloves. Initially, I accompanied him to the roof, but it was just too cold for me, so I returned to the comfort of my heated apartment and allowed Barack to take care of business on his own. Twenty minutes later, the satellite was ready to be connected. A nearly frozen Barack, returned from the roof. I neglected to add the fact that there were near gale force winds, which made the conditions less than ideal. I did my best to understand Barack and the installation went smoothly from then on. All of the wires were connected and Barack was about to program the remote when, I asked the one question that probably still haunts him to this day. “Is that the DVR box?” He looked at his clipboard. “Oh SHIT!” (perfectly enunciated!) “What?” I asked. “The DVR box needs another wire; I have to go back on the roof.” He shook his head. I have to say I felt sorry for the guy. He returned to the “North Pole” and stayed another fifteen minutes; Barack was trembling. The funniest part of the incident was when Barack had to call for technical assistance to complete the install. He had a Nextel phone and the conversation was on speaker. Picture this scene and imagine yourself trying to keep a straight face; I still can’t believe I held it in. Barack had a thick accent so the lady on the line was having trouble understanding him. Furthermore, the woman had a thick Indian accent and Barack was having trouble understanding her. I couldn’t believe it; they kept saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that.” There were a few times when I just kept my head down and turned away from Barack. It was the most hilarious conversation I have ever witnessed. The incident happened a few years ago so, regretfully,  I don’t remember any of the dialogue, but it was hilarious. BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

Check back tomorrow for a preview of next week’s blog entries.

On Monday, I will post an entry from a guest blogger…GET READY!!!

@PeteTeix617

Published by Peter Teixeira

First and foremost, I enjoy writing stories. I recently completed my first novel, and I successfully co-wrote a short film script, which won the grand prize in the words made easy competition.

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3 Comments

  1. Caribbean? Dominican by any chance…does the name Miguel ring a bell? That’s my 5th cousin, twice removed!!! He said he went to this apt with shit colored walls and had to climb a ladder older then dirt, he nearly died on the climb up and down which he had to do twice cuz the ass that of a client forgot to mention the DVR! And to top it off, he didn’t even get a tip!!!

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