One of the Titans of Town Talk Towers had to replace a shower head recently, and wanted one with a flexible hose, the better to spritz the dog, get to those hard-to-reach places on the kid, and, just maybe, for a stationary weapon in a water fight.
So, with a product in mind, it was off to the World’s Largest Retailer, which had a variety of those items in a variety of price ranges. Then came the practical question: Just how much should he spend?
Since people who pretend to be able to afford to live here are common in Happy Valley, it’s no surprise that the Titan in question frequents yard sales, thrift shops, and the classifieds to keep home and family running. So it’s also no surprise that said Titan tried to lowball the new shower head, too.
He chose the second-cheapest unit, took it home and hooked it up. It leaked like a Pentagon staffer with an axe to grind, and promptly broke when a tool was applied to tighten the leaky connection.
Thank heaven for the World’s Largest Retailer’s return policy.
Store credit in hand, the Titan went another $5 up the price scale, went home and hooked up the gadget.
No leaks. So far, so good. But then, what came out of the shower head was, shall we say, weak. Where once a stream flowed now came a dribble.
Again, back to the World’s Largest Retailer, and a trip another $10 up the price ladder.
Now out about $30 and three trips to the store, the Titan tightened the connections and... Success! No leaks, and a shower stream strong enough to get mud clods off the dog and shampoo out of Aunt Bessie’s beehive.
The moral, if there is one, is this: You don’t have to go big, but sometimes cheap is just cheap.

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