It’s interesting how we (by we I mean ‘me’ and millions of others) allow just about anyone in our homes to clean our carpets and complete other tasks.
After several years of having so many different people – handsymen, handymen, and others – in my home, my carpets were in dire need of a cleaning. So, I found a deal online last year and, with only a few days before the deal/coupon expired, I set an appointment for a cleaning.
About an hour before the appointment, I moved all of my furniture out of my rooms and then took a quick look around to see if there were any visible valuables that I might need to secure elsewhere so as not to lead anyone into temptation. Nope – guess that’s one benefit to having family and friends who are addicts – they help you realize the importance of either not having valuables or keeping them hidden.
Thirty minutes after my set appointment, the carpet cleaners arrived looking a bit wrecked. “Sorry we’re late. It’s been a rough morning,” one of them told me. The other was still making his way into the house – his eyes were glassy with dark circles underneath. After upselling me an item or two, they asked how I would like to pay and advised me their boss is asking that, if possible, people pay with cash instead of checks. “Why is that?” I asked. “You know, bank stuff.” At this point I knew I could probably pay them with anything they could trade for drugs.
As the one guy was cleaning my stairs, the other guy asked if he could use the bathroom. While he was in there – which was about ten minutes – I thought about the number of handymen who have used my toilet. Most of the time, it just smelled bad afterwards, but this time was different. This guy was looking for for prescription medications, guaranteed.
Sadly, for him, he left my bathroom and my house empty hand(yman)ed.