"If you need to use the toilet our pool is full of water" my neighbor helpfully stated. Hmm was she offering her kiddie pool as a comfort station on a hot and stormy night? Was she warning us she would hear if we stumbled through her yard seeking water through the impenetrable blackness? Did she know we skinny dipped when all was quiet? Fortunately her meaning dawned on me before I made some asinine remark. Losing power again meant our electrically operated well will not allow more than one toilet flush, so make it a good one! I still wonder, though, if she expected us to use the pool for nefarious actions or just grab a bucket.
Losing power has now become a game between our two houses where one wonders which storm, car/pole accident or just the capricious nature of the utility will strike when and where. I picture the utility gods playing darts to determine which transformer to blow up or which tree masquerading as a power pole will decide to fail. Trust me if a tree/power pole falls, many are doomed to know it whether they hear it or not. The gentle and jealousy provoking sound of generators fills the night air on a regular basis these days. We did manage to dig out the generator, fire it up and .....recharge my phone, which was my immediate concern. I like to measure out my disasters by looking up the estimated time of repair which is grossly exaggerated for the comfort? of the consumers who will marvel that they were able to get up and running so much sooner than predicted. I will of course see that non-use of power reflected on my bill. Not.
The horrible tragedy of 13 American soldiers and 100's of Afghans being killed by selfish, hateful cowards is heart-wrenching. I still support the withdrawal but its interesting to make the comparisons. When we withdrew from Syria, due to the former president's fascination with dicators, we deserted the Kurds who were promptly massacred while handing over our equipment and bases to the Russians, and no one (R's) made a peep. Biden is taking the grief, the blame, and staying the course, while air-lifting over 100,000 people out of harm's way. This deal was made with the Taliban, not the Afghan government, by the previous Administration but they didn't have the guts to pull the trigger. Now they want to cry foul?
Secondly the President knows this happened on his watch as he personally honors their final trip home and offers what comfort he can to their families. Not on such a scale as that, but the fatals that occurred during my career stay with me. I understood the only punching bag available for an unbearable tragedy that families have is you.
Thought to ponder. Why don't the folks so opposed to masking students (so they don't spread disease or die) with their take-over of school board meetings, marches and confrontations show the same level of commitment to getting guns out of schools?
The mad fisherperson, Joseph, was adequately rewarded this week for drowning his hapless worms with a 13 inch bass, 2 giant catfish and even a respectable sized bluegill or two. Then he proceeded to scare any further big ones away with a massive amount of time swimming in both the canal and State Park. My contribution is sitting in a floating chair, slathered with sunscreen, t-shirt, hat and sunglasses pretending I am not on lifeguard duty. The second day we had limited time so he was allowed to take to the water by himelf. As usual he hooked up with any boys out there where the rough housing and attempted drowning of each other proceeds. Though he did manage to get into a conversation with a Mom debating the merits of D.C. vs Marvel comics. Yeah, I don't get it either. As long as everybody had fun...
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