Can a Brother Catch a Break?

The first world problems have been coming at us hard the past couple of weeks. Amidst the excitement of moving into our new house we started to experience a streak of serial disappointments so consistent that it seems scripted. It started with a load of dishes, the first load in the new house, a milestone. Well, this milestone promptly leaked all over the kitchen floor and a quick check of the dishwasher's interior revealed a lake of dirty dishwater. WTF? Time to call a plumber. We got a delightful Navy vet who told us funny stories while methodically disassembling the offending appliance. His diagnosis was technical and involved an additional $400. He was shaking his head as he told us the cost, indicating that, no, we did not want to spend that amount on a 20-year-old Whirlpool. Time for a new one, meaning time to hand over $1000 to Major Appliances, our local purveyor of kitchen machinery. The same day we spent that money, we were forced to call the regional garage door experts…