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a few years back...
my 100 year old chimney started crumbling...
so i figured it was time for a new one...

it was very small...
so i figured the most it could possibly be to replace it was $500.
so since i thought it to be a $500 job i automatically doubled
that to bring it to approx $1000 in the real world.

well i sure got a lesson fast...
as the first estimate was $2200
they went up from there.

One even went as high as $4000!!!!

So I went back to the Yellow Pages figuring I must have missed
an ad somewhere...and sure enough...
there was one smaller one I had over-looked.

An old guy came out...and said he was the best there is.
Although he said he was too old to go up on the roof...
he said that he had hired and trained a "crew of monkeys"
and that he trained then right...
and there was *absolutely, positively* no one in town who could
do as fine a job as his crew.
Then he hesitated and said: "But I have to warn you... it's going to be
expensive!"

What could it hurt at this point? So...I said...sure...
why not give me an estimate. What was this going to be $10,000 I thought.

Anyway he got out his binoculars and took a good look...
then said : $1000 or, depending on what they find up there that I didn't
see...
it could go as high as $1300.

Well... trying to looked as shocked as possible...
I merely said: WOW!!! that really is expensive...
but I'm convinced you are the best...so I'll have you do it.

And they did a mighty fine job too. Probably $500 worth of work I figured !