“It was the day before Christmas break and all through the plant, not a creature was working, not even an ant”, a wag at work coined this poetry. When I asked him if that was all he had for me, he replied that he still had eight more hours to work on it. I never got back to him, so I don’t know how many more lines he added to his poem. Today was the last workday for the year. Judging by the number of cars in the parking lot this morning, we were already operating at half-staff. I can’t say that I was super productive, but at least I was there at work today, but I am not now. 🙂
Our next door neighbors had contracted with Davey Tree Service to trim one of their trees, in their backyard. The tree is next to our property line, so the tree service crew asked to use our driveway, to reach the tree with their bucket truck. The above picture was taken at lunchtime, when I came home to pick Anne up for lunch. I spoke to a member of the crew then and he said that they were just wrapping up. So, I was surprised to find them still working when I came home tonight. They were spreading dirt around the concrete pads that are our driveway. On closer inspection, I found that more than a few of the concrete slabs, had been crushed, heaved or cracked. Upon questioning, the workmen, their demeanor, filled with chagrin, spoke volumes more than words, “There is a business card inside of someone to call.”
I called Tom and setup an appointment for tomorrow morning. Doing a little forensic investigation, I found out that the problem occurred, when they were trying to back the truck out of the driveway. It ended up driving off of the concrete pads. We’ve had a lot of rain, so the soil is pretty soft, but that truck was big and heavy. They had to call for help. A dump truck came to pull them out. When I came home, a smaller truck was parked on the street and the same work crew that I had seen at lunch, was wheel-barrowing dirt up the driveway, covering up some of the ruts.
Like this post’s title says, it’s one thing or another. I came home anticipating a relaxing family holiday, now I have the looming prospect of having to deal with insurance companies, then contractors. Still, I’m glad to be home for the holidays with my family. I wish you all the same, just not this tree service debacle.