Sunday, May 16, 2010
Plumbing and Politics
When I arrived yesterday, the water here hadn't been turned on for the season yet. It usually gets turned on by Mother's Day, so I was a bit disappointed. I had brought along our 21 litre container of water just in case, but I really didn't expect to need it.
Life at Sidetrack without running water is not fun for long. Yes, it's possible to heat water on the stove for doing dishes and washing hands and face. But after a couple days without a shower, I feel almost grungy enough to jump into the cold lake to wash up. And getting up and partially dressed to head for the outhouse in the middle of the 40-degree night is simply no fun.
So this morning I called plumber Larry who has taken care of the plumbing here since before we bought it. In fact, Larry started taking care of the plumbing here as his father's helper about 40 years ago.
Larry was great. He came out on Saturday afternoon and spent about an hour and half priming the pump, filling the water heater, tightening the openings that had allowed drainage last October, and flushing the rust and grit out of the water lines.
And there was time along the way for some political talk. We both knew that casual strangers should take care talking politics and we did. We talked about the ugly details of local politics where grudges and feuds get played out. We talked about the likelihood that Obama would be a one-term president. We talked about the economics of global trade and invisible evidence for economic recovery. And we talked about how Russia went from a Communist economy to an unfree market economy and whether the US was headed that direction too.
It was a good time on a beautiful day. Pileated woodpeckers have been making noises in the woods all around the lake. Pheasants, ducks, geese, and various song birds I don't recognize have been equally vocal. And there are a couple cows somewhere who are anxious to make themselves heard. And I got 2+ chapters proofread. What a great place to be to do this detailed, mind-numbing work.
Life at Sidetrack without running water is not fun for long. Yes, it's possible to heat water on the stove for doing dishes and washing hands and face. But after a couple days without a shower, I feel almost grungy enough to jump into the cold lake to wash up. And getting up and partially dressed to head for the outhouse in the middle of the 40-degree night is simply no fun.
So this morning I called plumber Larry who has taken care of the plumbing here since before we bought it. In fact, Larry started taking care of the plumbing here as his father's helper about 40 years ago.
Larry was great. He came out on Saturday afternoon and spent about an hour and half priming the pump, filling the water heater, tightening the openings that had allowed drainage last October, and flushing the rust and grit out of the water lines.
And there was time along the way for some political talk. We both knew that casual strangers should take care talking politics and we did. We talked about the ugly details of local politics where grudges and feuds get played out. We talked about the likelihood that Obama would be a one-term president. We talked about the economics of global trade and invisible evidence for economic recovery. And we talked about how Russia went from a Communist economy to an unfree market economy and whether the US was headed that direction too.
It was a good time on a beautiful day. Pileated woodpeckers have been making noises in the woods all around the lake. Pheasants, ducks, geese, and various song birds I don't recognize have been equally vocal. And there are a couple cows somewhere who are anxious to make themselves heard. And I got 2+ chapters proofread. What a great place to be to do this detailed, mind-numbing work.
