Privy Permit

We just sent off the paperwork for our privy permit. It is hard for me to believe that there is an office somewhere that actually grants permission to dig a hole in the ground and poop in it. We had to wait for the results of a soil test that our contractor was responsible for completing. Here's how it works. He digs a hole in the ground and evaluates the soil. I believe he is checking soil composition and whether or not the soil can absorb the contents of the privy. He is supposed to then fill out a report and file with with the county. He finished the job right around Thanksgiving and we paid him promptly. Mid-January, when we were ready to file our paperwork to get the permit, we realized he had not cashed our check or filed the report. Ray called the guy to find out what was up and he explained that he hadn't filed the report because he hadn't been paid. He was surprisingly friendly about it, like he just assumed he was being stiffed and was ok with that. Maybe it happens all the time in his line of work. Ray explained that we had in fact put a check in the mail several months ago. I have a feeling the check had been filed away either under the mats in the guy's truck or maybe in the pocket of some jeans. Anyway, he agreed to file the soil test right away. We stopped payment on the original check and put a new one in the mail, which was cashed a few days later. I was very frustrated by the hold ups but we're back on track now. I consider the $29 stop payment fee we had to pay to be a kind of moron tax. Hopefully, our dealings with this particular character are over.