Home Depot, round II through V

You can call me Ms. Queen of the Swamp Cooler.  I've now attempted to fix a leak in the water tubing with some sort of space age goo and tape (failed), re-did the tubing from the cooler to the main water line (complete with compression valves), and have bought other things to fix things like the water level, the mineral build up and something to do with the bearings. 

This is what kills me:  my father.  He is not Mr. Handy.  His idea of help is to  hand you the yellow pages.  However, before or after the fact when you are just pondering the project he tells you how easy it is to do yourself.  He'll even throw out a few terms that makes him look like he knows what he's talking about.

"Sure you just get the drill bit for the metal, get your hack saw, make sure you have roofing tar on hand, and that's all there is to it."  ~Dad

Uh huh.

However, when you ASK for his HELP he will tell you he is too busy, too old, or he already went through that part in his life.  The man won't even show up for supportive measures.  By the way, he's only 53 and when he says he's busy, that is code for I'm-watching-Golf TV/Food Channel.  It is the most maddening thing ever. 

In the meantime, I've been hanging out with Larry, the Home Depot guy dedicated to the swamp cooler section.  He helped me with the tubing and other how-to's all day yesterday (all 3 trips in the course of 6 hours.)  Larry has been great.

I'm certain this saga isn't over yet...