Sump Pump Trades: Father’s Day and AI

With Father’s Day approaching (6/21/26), I can proudly say that my dad is handy! 

When we were kids, Dad constantly fixed everything, and on occasion, he brought discarded machines from work that, when repaired, became ours. The crown jewel was a garage “drink machine” always stocked with our favorite drinks. Truly, we lived in the best of times and seemed like princes of summer to our friends on the hottest of days.

Today, that mystical machine lives with our brother’s family, and serves a second generation of preteens. He recently shattered the childhood magic by revealing its deepest secret: the machine’s “special powers” require a man to manually restock it—and he, like our father before him, is that man. Honestly, I should have suspected something when the machine suddenly started carrying malt, hops, and barley-based beverages after my 21^st birthday. Turns out my brother is just following in Dad’s footsteps as a great father by refilling that machine (and also, like, Pops, doing so much more). 

While my brothers inherited Dad’s handy genes, I wasn’t so lucky. My established role in family projects is “pack mule”—unskilled manual labor. And I was comfortable with that. When our kids were young, we had more money than time, and I just called a professional whenever a crisis hit.

Now, I have less money, more time, and AI in my pocket. So, when heavy rains struck and the sump pump failed, I actually took on the project myself. If you’re impressed that I know technical terms like “piggyback tethered float,” don’t be. I just took a picture of the problem, and AI did the heavy lifting. It diagnosed an ungrounded outlet, told me how to bypass the mechanism to drain the basement without manually cleaning up water, suggested an upgraded replacement part, and even told me how to install a water alarm to avert future soggy disasters. 

Without AI, I would’ve immediately called Burns Plumbing (574-674-4200), who always do an outstanding job. I would have gladly paid Old Man Burns (Sean) and his incredibly patient son, Spencer, to solve it. But AI gave me the confidence to fix it myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll need Burns again, but not this time. This time, I took a few minutes’ worth of vacation money out of their pockets; my use of AI likely cost them money, and that is worth noting as we think about the shifting AI economy for better and for worse. 

You can bet that my braggadocious tone will ring out in front of my siblings as I share my triumphs and my handyman vocabulary with our dad this Father’s Day. You can also bet that he and my siblings will cautiously remind me about the trades as we discuss the use and future of AI. 

© 2026 Brian S Collier. All opinions are those of the author. The author reserves all Rights and copyrights. To request permission to reprint any or all of this article, contact info@redresssouthbend.com. 

Reprinted with permission of the author by Redress South Bend.

All opinions, research, and views in this piece are attributed to the author and are not necessarily the thoughts or opinions of Redress South Bend. 

Brian S. Collier, Ph.D.

Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, Collier is a graduate of South Bend public schools. Collier taught high school for four years before earning a Ph.D., then taught college in Arizona, Michigan, and Indiana. He is now again teaching high school locally.

Collier signed on to serve on the editorial board and as an occasional contributor to Redress, hoping to help provide a liberal perspective on issues in his hometown and the region. While local 'liberals' may not feel heard, Collier feels like both parties are so far from where they were when he was a child that they wouldn't possibly recognize their modern iterations.

Collier feels strongly that South Bend lacks actual leadership, shows cowardice, and prioritizes conveniences and business interests over citizen needs, and is a proxy for petty vendettas and a lack of real, sustainable policy. Collier fears for the future of St. Joseph County, Michiana, and America, and the very real chance that the American experiment ends during his lifetime due to partisan nonsense and the public's inability to even see other perspectives.