I fell in love with the Snell Septic Service people eight or nine years ago when a massive truck pulled up with a big man and five Corgis sitting happily in the front seat. They went with Grandpa Snell everywhere he went and never made a sound.

I was learning how much the big men in trucks love little dogs to ride around with, although the Snell family is wild about dogs of all sizes and ages. They are just about the nicest people who ever come to work on keeping the farm running, and there are few things more critical than preserving the septic open and running.

The Snells are one of the things I love about the country. In my former life, I don’t remember ever speaking to anyone who worked on our sewage anywhere. It was not considered a pleasant experience, even in the cities where the waste flowed into pipes and away from the house. Scott Snell has taken over from his father and comes once a year, or more often when our old system clogs and gurgles. I admit it’s a bit scary that that happens, but the Snells come immediately in an emergency; they are always a pleasure to see and talk too.

Scott leaves his dog home sometimes; it makes other dogs a little crazy, and some people don’t notice that their dogs are aggressive. He is scrambling to drain all the tanks before the complex winter sets in. That makes everybody’s septic more difficult.

It’s a great relief for us when the Snell’s come bye. We don’t need to worry about the septic for another year. We have a small 500-gallon tank, which should be expanded to 1,000 gallons one day, but it will have to wait. The house was occupied by only one person when we bought it, and she was 102 years old. It makes the oddest sound sometimes, but it works well.

We have a lot of repairs and maintenance to do. Scott is always a pleasure to talk to; he says I’ve made him nearly famous with my blog posts.

Grandpa Snell’s Corgis were the sweetest dogs and faithful companions. She is still alive and in a wheelchair.

I was happy to hear that people reading the blog noticed. I try hard to give some credit to the people who work so hard and conscientiously. The Snells represent everything good about the country – family, service, hard-working, honest people with giant trucks that always get it done. Having our septic drained is a pleasure, something I never thought would happen.

The smell only lasts a few minutes.

I love writing about the big truck people; they have been incredibly friendly, responsive, and competent to us. I believe strongly that people will treat me the way I treat them. Up here, that has worked well for us. I’m not anxious about our septic any longer. The Snells are just a phone call away.

When Scott or Brian Snell comes, I ask them if they want to be paid today or mail me an invoice. “Up to you, “they always say, “we know where you live.” We laugh.

As he drove off, Scott remembered forgetting to give me a receipt for the $280 service. Just mail it to me, I said. “You know where I live,” I said.” He laughed.