We all have a spot in our house that creeks a little when we walk on it. It might be the front porch, the fifth stair on the way to the basement, or the floorboards next to the refrigerator, but we all have them. These little creeks and moans let me know if someone is coming to the door when I ring a doorbell. Sometimes the absence of the sounds lets me know that I'm at the wrong house.
This happened to me today at my first appointment. I made a quick check on the address in my trusty Treo, and my mind registered that the address was 2226. I cheerfully walked up to the door, rang the door bell and waited about two minutes. No answer. No noises. I waited another thirty seconds or so and rang the door bell again (I could hear it chiming through the door). Still no answer. Still no house noise. I waited another few moments, and decided to check the address one more time on my Treo. "Darn it!!", I muttered out loud. The address was not 2226, it was 2226 1/2!!
I was bit by my inattention and the fractional addresses again. In our area, addresses often end in a fraction. Why? I have no earthly idea. Our city does name streets and avenues with a system that relates to the number of miles from town. Somewhere along the development of our fair city, it was decided that it was ok to end addresses with 1/2's, 2/3's, and even 5/8's. Obviously the addresses were implemented long before Internet or even mail order.
Over the years, I have done this a number of times, unfortunately. It is bone head days like this, however, that I'm thankful there were no house noises. It's never comfortable trying to explain to someone I have never met or talked to and who has never seen me before (and may not even have a computer) that I'm there to fix their computer!
