Desperately need a chemist(?) to help me out of the hole I dug.

[IrishAyes]

20. Well, I'm a one-woman wrecking crew!

If blind stubborn stoopid qualifies as tough, I'll cop to that. With the pipe sawed off 2" above the floor, I discovered that salt jam extended still farther. Apparently the stuff expands when it clumps. 2 1/4" pipe length of about 3' and who knows how much more, jammed by about 1/2 cup of rock salt.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. The great handyman I recently met (through references) can do everything a house needs, and he doesn't charge like a plumber or electrician. When I finally gave up and collapsed in a pool of tears, I called him to come look at what I'd wrought. He did laugh - it IS funny - and then said don't worry, in a week he'll come back and w/o undue trouble or expense will a) crawl under the house and wrap the pipes, b) after he's relocated the trap where it should be - at floor level. Mind, that involves drilling through a concrete floor and maybe drilling through thick oak walls of an 1845 cabin (hope not). But the main thing is, he can do the permanent solution.

So I guess all the hellzapoppin' was worth it if you consider the end result. Had I not had such a brain fart, no telling how many years I'd have fuddled along with the problem. Maybe my part was like birthing huge triplets breech w/o an epidural, but oh the rewards afterward!

How's that for spin? Did I ever tell you I dabbled in marketing?

But as usual, Shakespeare was right - all's well that ends well.