A lesson learned.....

An elderly man is suing a plumbing company for outfitting his modest Milwaukee home with $13,698 worth of new plumbing and fixtures.

The 73 year old man says he originally called the company about a clogged toilet. They fixed the clog, and then proceeded to replace the plumbing in the bathroom and install a new toilet, bathroom sink and water heater -- before moving to the upstairs bathroom and replacing all the fixtures there.

Some outside faucets were replaced as well.

The bill for $13,698 is almost 20 percent of the value of the home.

The company said the homeowner signed off on all of the upgrades and the financing, making him legally responsible.

A company representative said the mans daughter, and part-owner of the home, got involved in the dispute and the company is sympathetic to the situation. We're going to refund some of the money to appease the daughter. He said that the company will reduce the bill by about $8,000.

I only know what I read here and that is this plumbing company is going to reduce the bill, a lot. This hit home because of something that happened to us.

Homeowners have their share of surprises. When appliances stop working and need repair or replacement we don't get two weeks notice, they just plain quit. Over the years I have done some fix-it things. I've also done some stupid things.

I called a heating and air conditioning company to come out and look at and/or fix our furnace. The repairman came into the garage, looked around for a second or two, reached toward the wall switch next to the heating unit and FLIP. He moved the switch from OFF to ON. Problem solved, case dismissed, sixty bucks please. (it was quite a while ago).

Not once but twice I've had the bathtubs not draining problem. First, I try the plunger and when that doesn't work, the baking soda and vinegar. Eventually I resort to the poison Drano type stuff. Both times, just before calling a plumber, I remembered THE DRAIN DIVERTER. The little handle thing that you point up or down depending on tub or shower? It somehow got flipped the wrong way and the tub was filling up. Problem solved.

OK, so I get lucky once in a great while. But you well know, when something goes out, you need to fix it asap. That is what many of these repair places know, and count on. It's wonderful if you have references or have worked with people in the past. But at times you need to improvise.

Several years ago, on a Friday, our hot water heater started leaking and stopped working. This particular appliance was purchased at Home Depot. Mike the "everything eventually breaks, falls down, or falls apart" Handyman installed it. The thing wasn't very old but it was,  of course, out of warranty.

I was leaving for Michigan that week end and wanted something installed before I left. By the way, it was Good Friday. I first tried the plumbing company that had done some work here.They were quick, reasonable, and good. Unfortunately they didn't answer and I got an answering service. I'll get back to this point later.

So, I opened the Yellow Pages and tried to find what looked like a local and family owned company. Eventually I found a plumber, liked what I heard over the phone, and made arrangements for the repair.

The guy was here for hours and the total tab was over eight hundred dollars. Yes, I signed off on everything. Once he started, things snowballed. It was my own fault since I felt we had to have this done, today! I wrote the check at the end of the day and that was, as they say, that.

Later that day and Saturday morning I started to think we really got screwed. Remember the company I mentioned earlier, the one we used before? Saturday morning I spoke with them. The owner was upset about all of this. Their answering service should have called him, he was "on call." He lost a sale and I paid about twice what the job was worth.

Monday morning, from Michigan, I called the company that did the installation. I threatened to stop payment on the check. I told them what "my" plumber said. I also told them the guy who came out knew we were desperate since I was leaving town etc. etc. etc.

They cut the bill in half.

I'm thinking I should have a moral to the story?

Always be sure to slow down and take a breath before making a decision. As Treebeard said, "Don't be hasty." If you are, rather than having hot water, you just may find yourself in it.

A Washington state woman who made an obscene gesture at another driver may face criminal charges for causing an accident, police say.

The 23-year-old driver -- whose name was not reported -- "flipped the bird" at another driver Monday, and then lost control of her vehicle and flipped her car.

Come on, you know you want to say it!!.......ha ha ha ha.....no one was hurt.