Category: window replacements

It was unclear to Allan why Susan was behaving in such a relaxed manner. He felt positively stressed, both physiologically and mentally, and yet she just sat there sipping tea and laughing along. As the sweat thickened on his brow and his throat became increasingly scratchy, it appeared that Susan experienced the opposite, she seemed to become even more relaxed. He had arranged the aluminium windows installation in Melbourne for the following day and was quickly regretting it. He was in no mood to deal with his windows, and Susan was completely oblivious. Earlier that day she had texted him reminding him of the window installation. He hadn’t replied. They had fought for weeks over the pros and cons of aluminium windows versus timber windows. Of course, Susan had won.

Susan always won. The house next door had also opted for aluminium windows which slightly comforted Allan but he still felt cheated and bullied. He had been there the night the neighbours had to arrange for an aluminium window repairs company in Melbourne to come and fix their sliding aluminium windows in their basement. He had seen the craftsmanship that went into the window repairs. Allan tried to get windows of his mind as he tried to fall asleep that night. He was dreading tomorrow and wanted so desperately to tell Susan to cancel. Susan was fast asleep and appeared to be dreaming blissfully as a dull but wide smile lay slap across her face. All he wanted was to get out of bed, pack a bag and run for the hills. He knew Susan would never forgive him, not just because of the aluminium windows but on behalf of the children and the entire community. When Allan was 17 his biggest problem was which pizza toppings he would have that night and how to sneak into his house after curfew. Now he lay there dreaming of such adolescent stresses.

You have no doubt heard the expression “when a door closes, a window opens”. What you probably do not know is that this expression derives from an ancient greek teaching. The original saying roughly translates to “as one window closes, another must open”.

This week I made friends with a man looking to obtain window replacements in Melbourne. He is engaged in the business of what they call house flipping; he buys an old home, gives it a fresh lick of paint and some other cosmetic enhancements, and sells it for a lavish profit. He tells me that replacing the windows of an older home greatly increases how much he can sell the house for.

We got talking about the aforementioned expression; he thought the saying about doors and windows was apt for his house flipping business. I had to laugh at his naivety. The expression’s meaning has shifted so far from its original purpose. 

I explained to my dear new friend that this expression is not as inspirational as he thought. The actual meaning in Greek refers to the problems of stealing we had, many centuries ago, before we became a peace-loving country. As one window of the house closes, with the inhabitants of the house defending themselves against a burglar, another window around the other side of the house is opened by another burglar. Often the second burglar would be working in cahoots with the first, and they would split their spoils. Greece has a dark past from which we can learn many lessons of the ugly side of human nature.
My new friend enjoyed hearing about the origin of his favourite saying. And to think, I would never have shared this knowledge with him if he was not asking me if I knew any timber window installers in Melbourne!