For four dollars and thirty two cents I can flush again

As I said to someone years ago when it was installed, I hate the low-flow in our downstairs WC off the kitchen: that you so often have to double-pump in order to get clear defeats the whole low-flow theory. Still, this is my private meditation chamber and I depend on it to clear my head and orient myself every morning while Lota is still in dreamland upstairs.

So when the tank started to empty all by itself shortly after each flush - leaving the system no-go unless you popped the top, jiggled float to refill the tank, and flushed quickly after it filled - I say, when this happened, I knew I needed to act quickly. In an exploratory operation on the mechanism (pop-topping, flushing, dipping, wiggling, etc.,) I decided that the flap was no longer sealing, even though I couldn't feel any rough edges or breaks. So this afternoon at Leopoldi's, for $4.32 (including tax) I bought a new one. It was red (sassy) rather than the black of the one I was replacing, and it was way supple, whereas the one I was replacing had become pretty stiff (and I imagine that's why it wasn't sealing reliably).

Voila. For $4.32, a couple of wet forearms, and a few minutes work, meditative equilibrium is returned to my life.

I know, that's sort of a big "So what?", except that I've been thinking a lot lately about money, about having it and not having it and about how you get it and how you spend it, about wasting it or using it, and the worth of things you spend it on. I've even (very, very unlike me) started a little black book tracking every penny I spend. I spend bazillions of them.

And, I can say very confidently, in this context, that today's $4.32 is the best spend I'm likely to see this month. (Current #2 was the $5 pulled pory from Lucky BBQ at the Smith Street street fair - with the Carolina style vinegar based sauce.)