The Tech Who Saved Christmas

Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the shop,
The phones were all ringing, the calls were non-stop.
Our service trucks were stocked up, all ready to go,
Every tech was braced for the ice and the snow.

Our dispatchers were busily planning away,
With hopes to satisfy each customer today.
And mamma in the office, and I in the back,
Were busy keeping our inventory on track.

Our marketing dollars this fall we invested,
With plans of making our holidays festive.
With plenty of service agreements stashed away,
We can buy lots of toys for our children to play.

As nightfall approached, the phone calls were dropping,
We might even get in some last-minute shopping!
We gathered our techs for some holiday cheer,
And wished them all well, and a Happy New Year.

When out in the office there arose such a clatter,
I ran in from the shop to see what was the matter.
A call had come in from the Jones’ home just then,
They cried, ‘Our CO alarm’s gone off in the den!’

‘Get out of that house right now,’ we instructed,
‘There’s a good chance your chimney flue is obstructed.’
Away to the Jones’ house we flew in a flash,
We ran eight red lights, barely avoiding a crash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.
When there on the Jones’ rooftop was a wondrous sight,
Santa stuck fast in the chimney ‘ he had it plugged tight!

He picked the wrong flue to make his descent,
And blocked off the furnace and water heater vent.
His reindeer were helpless, they hadn’t a clue,
‘I’m a contractor,’ I shouted, ‘I know what to do!’

I called in for backup, unsure of my plan,
To unstick from the chimney this jolly old man.
As I pondered on whether to push, pull, or tug,
It suddenly hit me, I had to call Doug.

‘Doug’s Crane,’ said a familiar voice on the phone,
‘No one’s here now, just speak at the tone.’
In the meantime, my backup arrived on the scene,
In drove David, Henry, Harry, and Gene.

Right behind them were George, Joe, Larry, and Lou,
All our techs on the street knew of Santa’s snafu.
We pondered, debated, without any luck,
‘I know,’ exclaimed Lou, ‘I’ll get Santa unstuck.’

He spoke not a word, but he knew what to do,
He hooked up a compressor to the furnace pipe flue.
And laying a finger aside of his nose,
He threw the main switch and the pressure gauge rose.

First, a loud hiss and then a blast blew the grate,
Through the air sailed Santa, bells and all – at Mach 8.
But I heard him scream out, ere out of sight he flew,

“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,
ESPECIALLY TO LOU!”