Sunday, December 16, 2007
Man-made and natural disasters
Tuesday night, my daughter dropped off her dog at the house on the way to her boyfriend's. About a half hour later, we get a call that there's a fire in his apartment building (they called it in), and she asks if he can stay at the house if necessary. She calls back just before 11 to say that he can't get back in that night. Both vehicles are blocked in by the fire engine so I have to go pick them up.
Wednesday night, I try to dial into the Internet, and the line is dead. It had been working in the morning. A contractor has been digging up my concession road and cut the cable. This is the third time in three years. I hate calling Bell to report a problem because they automatically assume it is your problem and waste time asking all kinds of stupid questions about the service inside your house. Thursday afternoon, I get a message that the problem is outside my house and it will be another day or two before it can be fixed. I got home late that night after attending the department Christmas party and choir practice. The phone is working!
This morning, we got the snow they were calling for. It started coming down like rain about 8 a.m. I didn't want to go to church but the choir was doing the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols so I had to get there. I called my fellow tenor for a lift. I walked out to the concession road to meet him. A township snow plow went by just before he got there in his midsize beater. The defroster and the windshield wipers weren't working that well, but it had front wheel drive. We got to the main road (regional), and it hadn't been plowed. He's booting it along saying we had to have good speed to make the steep hill between my place and church. He then tells me that if he were alone he would have gone a different way. We make it up the hill, and the road is plowed after that.
There were eleven people at the church not counting the minister and the organist, two more than in the choir. We could see the snow coming down throughout the service out the back window. Despite of that, we all stayed for coffee and social time after the service thanking everyone who braved the elements to be there. Everyone who went out to brush off their cars came back in white with snow. The snow had reached the bottom of the car while we were in church. The main road was even worse on the way home, but my singing partner took it slow down the hill and got me home in one piece. The neighbour even had our driveway plowed and actually came back for a second go.
D.
Wednesday night, I try to dial into the Internet, and the line is dead. It had been working in the morning. A contractor has been digging up my concession road and cut the cable. This is the third time in three years. I hate calling Bell to report a problem because they automatically assume it is your problem and waste time asking all kinds of stupid questions about the service inside your house. Thursday afternoon, I get a message that the problem is outside my house and it will be another day or two before it can be fixed. I got home late that night after attending the department Christmas party and choir practice. The phone is working!
This morning, we got the snow they were calling for. It started coming down like rain about 8 a.m. I didn't want to go to church but the choir was doing the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols so I had to get there. I called my fellow tenor for a lift. I walked out to the concession road to meet him. A township snow plow went by just before he got there in his midsize beater. The defroster and the windshield wipers weren't working that well, but it had front wheel drive. We got to the main road (regional), and it hadn't been plowed. He's booting it along saying we had to have good speed to make the steep hill between my place and church. He then tells me that if he were alone he would have gone a different way. We make it up the hill, and the road is plowed after that.
There were eleven people at the church not counting the minister and the organist, two more than in the choir. We could see the snow coming down throughout the service out the back window. Despite of that, we all stayed for coffee and social time after the service thanking everyone who braved the elements to be there. Everyone who went out to brush off their cars came back in white with snow. The snow had reached the bottom of the car while we were in church. The main road was even worse on the way home, but my singing partner took it slow down the hill and got me home in one piece. The neighbour even had our driveway plowed and actually came back for a second go.
D.
Labels: Personal
