Our story so far: Tyler struck a deal with Reroofer, our belfry repairman, to barter for the fire escape, which Reroofer wanted for a deer stand. The deal required Reroofer to dismantle and haul away the two-story solid steel fire escape himself.

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While Reroofer and his compadre conferred to determine a plan, I worked on a different project in the front yard assigned by the foreman: Removing the paint from one of the doors we found in the church so it could be painted by Low Talker, our painter. This was an effective distraction from the ruckus occurring around the corner of the house.

Reroofer and his friend cut the stairway into three pieces. At one point, a truck and a rope were employed to pull things apart, but I couldn’t tell you what other tools were employed. For the most part I didn’t really want to know how they were accomplishing this task so I didn’t ask questions and I didn’t hover.

I prayed. I prayed no one would get hurt and my house would remain standing.

Pretty quickly, I realized my project was a no-go. Too much of the door was rotted to salvage it. A few hours later, my prayers about the fire escape were answered.

You win some, you lose some.

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Tomorrow: Chapter 36 was a quick one. It closes with a look at the west side of the church, then and now. Check it out here.