Telephone wires are not known for electrocuting people...

Some days I feel extremely foreign. There are things in the US I just don't get, and it's probably a cultural thing. Like... I just met the FHA appraiser at the house I want to buy. She was really nice and seemed content with most things, but wrote some details down on a check list for the final inspection.

I understood one of them: we couldn't get the thermostat to the AC to work, because the old batteries had leaked battery acid all over the circuit board. From what I've read, the AC isn't technically required for an FHA approval. In Florida it still needs to work, I won't debate that.

They also require the heat to work. In a state where it in my opinion goes from hot to hotter back to hot, this seems bizarre.

Another requirement is that there can't be any loose wires hanging from the walls. In my understanding, this point is to prevent people from being electrocuted, which makes perfect sense. Here's where it becomes funny: there are some old telephone wires hanging in the garage. The appraiser said, "These must be capped."

I said, "Uuuh, capped?"

There's no way that wire could hurt anyone unless someone pulls it down and uses it to strangle someone else. That might not work either; it's so thin it'd probably break. (And, yes, I've seen too many movies and my imagination is a wee bit too vivid, LOL!)

At times like this, it's hard not to laugh. I know the appraiser is just doing her job, following a protocol someone made in an office somewhere. The protocol says there can't be any loose wires, and capping them isn't a problem. Especially since my wonderful real estate agent said she'd take care of it. It's still hilarious!

If the appraiser doesn't find anything worse, I'm eternally grateful, but that telephone wire will keep me chuckling!