Why it's good to stay friends with your exes

So I had this issue with my water heater. Dad tells me it's just one of the elements that needs to be replaced. I figure.. how difficult could that be? Well, let me tell you.
First, the water heater has to be drained. No problem. Then you have unscrew the existing element, replace it, fill the water heater back up, turn everything back on and wa-la! Easier said than done.
I got the element today at Lowe's. Called my dad to see when he could come replace it. And he gives me a song and dance about all the important things he has to do today and he might not make it until this evening if not until tomorrow. Given that I want to be able to take a shower in order to go to church tomorrow, this is not feasible for me.
What to do? Guess it's time to call in the ex-boyfriend that always seems to get me out of this kind of bind. My friend Derek. I'll write a post about him some other time. But to keep it short and sweet, we dated for a while back around 94, broke up and have seen each other off and on from time to time. At one point he was a kind of "friend with benefits". But we've remained friends and he helps me from time to time. He installed my garage door opener for me and has helped me in several other ways throughout the years.
He was obliging and offered to come see if he could help. We got the water heater drained, eventually replaced the top element and then found out from dad it was actually the bottom element that needed to be replaced. That's were the real trouble began. Turns out the bottom of the water heater was very calcified. The element was completely surround by the deposits and broke off when he tried to get it out. So after a period of a about two hours of trying to get rid of the calcium deposits and getting the curvy element out we finally got it clear enough to replace the bottom element. (That's making a very long story short)
At one point I thought it was just going to be easier to buy a new water heater. But Derek prevailed saving me about $300. And all he got was a new socket that I bought for him and dinner. He's really a great guy. (No, not great in having a romantic relationship, but he's been a very good friend.)
I've always remained on friendly terms with all of my ex-boyfriensds/husband and it's been a very good thing for me. I don't know what kind of relationship Marty and I will have. I'm assuming we're going to stay friends. But he hasn't contacted me other than a single IM since he's gone to Alaska. Maybe I'll hear from him at some point. I can't really contact him so the ball is in his court. But he still remains special to me. And yes, that's a one-sided thing, but I can't do anything about that. So, my door is always open to him. I hope he'll check in once in a while.