Water Heater Problems!

The kids and I came in from the park yesterday, and I had every intention of getting one of them in the tub, however when we turned on the water, it never got warm....  My first thought was, "Here we go again."  This is the 3rd time our water heater has had problems....  Really?  I mean, really!  What are the odds?  I mean, should we be concerned that we've had the water heater for 5 years and it's already had so many problems, or are all of my neighbors having the same issue?

So the last time the guy who came was so nice, that we called the same guy - as it turned out he did everything today for free - I don't know why he did that, but he did.  He just kinda slipped out of the house, without saying much, but if you have problems let me know.

I mean he completely replaced our thermacouple (This is the 2nd time for that, the first time it cost us $150!) and just left the house without being paid!  When I asked him how much it would cost, he kinda shrugged his shoulders and said, "No, I got it."  This is a blessing for us, but I know he can't feed his family on nothing...  It made me feel bad for him.  So I guess the least I can do is pass on to friends and neighbors that if you need a good plumber, I know one!