Tim Beebe is the fire chief in Upsala, Ont. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

"What do you mean, my laptop screen isn’t covered?” I sputtered, gripping the phone, blood pressure rising. “I have extended warranty!”

My mind flashed back to the salesman who sold me the computer. What was it he said . . . something about the warranty covering “everything.” Or was it “nearly everything.” Either way, you’d think a laptop screen would fit in there somewhere.

A voice brought me back to earth. “They said the screen isn’t covered,” the service person repeated. My face grew hot and the room began to spin. The next two minutes were a blur, but I vaguely remember threatening to call the manager, the owner, the bank that held their mortgage, the Prime Minister, Alan Brunacini, and the Queen of England. The old, “be-nice-or-I’ll-tell-mom” tactic. The service person meekly said he would see what he could do, and hung up.