When I moved to this part of the country I knew it was remote, although I had no idea how weird it was from the world I knew.
- Out here the police are only someone you see when you call, and even then it takes a long time.
There are no nearby stores besides the gas station and my nearest neighbors are miles away from me. Being this isolated means that life is a lot different. I got a job assisting a local guy who I thought was a business, but it turns out he was just a guy who owned a lot of tools. Bob was the closest thing to a heating and cooling tech within 125 miles or so. He was not heating and A/C certified, and in fact had nothing beyond a private school education. He was not licensed as a legal business, did not have insurance, and only worked for money. He was brilliant when it came to fixing air conditioners and heaters, but operated entirely off the grid. As his assistant it was our job to drive the truck, carry the tools, and help out whenever needed, although I didn’t know the first thing about heating and A/C systems. Bob told me it didn’t matter, that you can learn heating and cooling maintenance just by doing it – that’s how Bobby did it! After genuinely working with him for a few months, I guess that despite his lack of education and heating and A/C certification, Bob may be some kind of genius. Heating and A/C systems are incredibly complex, and yet he understands them better than I know how to tie my own shoes.