Spirit of St. Louis

Dan and Britt left the Lou on Sunday morning, their destination, Brooklyn. This is normally a fifteen hour drive. This is a long drive in the best of circumstances. NYC born and raised Britt doesn’t drive and Dan was suffering from a cold. So, Anne and I had offered my services as a co-driver. I was up for it. I could extend my visit and see some sights, but Dan said that he was fine and could do it. The Pennsylvania turnpike tour bus wreck that had killed five, had already occurred and we discussed alternative routes. They finally made it, but were a good five hours late. Along the way, they saw not one, but two tractor trailers that were on fire. Dan sent a text at four in the morning. One of them they just missed due to a fortuitous dinner break and gas stop (Eat here, get gas.) They heard the sirens pass them by at the rest stop and were stuck with nothing to do except to wait for the fire to be put out. Anyway they made it and now Dan has a car, the Prius.

In another sense, Dan and Britt made it out-of-town in the nick of time. Monday saw no parking signs go up on the other side of our street. Today, the water company showed up for work. Fortunately, they will be tearing up the other side of the road. Two years ago, we saw the sewer company doing this kind of work. That job was on our side of the street. So far, the water company’s footprint isn’t as heavy as the sewer company’s was. No stacks of pipes, no port-a-potty on anyone’s front lawn, at least not yet. Again, no water shutoffs yet. Still, I drew a pot of water, for emergency toilet flushes. Dishes, showers and laundry could eventually prove problematic, at least during the day. We’re back down to only one vehicle again, which we can park off street in our driveway, but based on our experience with the sewer work, parking on another street may be necessary. This ordeal is supposed to last until March. Oh boy, we’re having some fun now.