WHEN MY 59-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOR KNOCKED AT MIDNIGHT, I THOUGHT I WAS FIXING A PIPE, BUT I WAS REALLY SAVING MY OWN LIFE…

out to be what I suspected: an old copper pipe worn thin at the joint. The cabinet wood had swelled, but the worst had been prevented by shutting the water off when we did. I knelt under the sink, tools spread around me, while Caroline made coffee.

“You know,” she said, setting a mug beside me, “Robert used to say if something still works, leave it continue reading …