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08/21/2003: "What Is It?"

I'm sitting in a cabin on one of the most peaceful lakes in Northwest Michigan and I can't hear myself clicking on the keys of my laptop. In fact, I wouldn't be able to hear the phone ring, if it rang, and I certainly can't hear the soft music that I think is still playing on the boom box. What the hell is going on? Click more.. below.

Well, the guy next door on the North is having a few trees taken out. That's good for a few chain saws, a king size wood chipper, and a diesel truck running at extra high revs whenever it's attendant cherry picker changes position. Jesus.

Then, the guy on the other side, next door to the South, and his brother-in-law, are building a new tool shed. They already have a "pole barn" where they winter their boats and a full size John Deere tractor, and keep a huge general inventory of sophisticated hardware. These guys together own every power tool known to man and today they are pulling out all the stops.

Even as I sit here typing, members of our party are in town at the lumberyard. This is getting totally out of hand. They are buying wood to replace deck sections of our dock and they have asked me to borrow the necessary power tools in their absence. I give up and stroll south to see the guys with the pole barn. I cross over through the trees on the lakeside since most of the melee is taking place behind the houses, away from the lake. And there is Jay, the more repair rabid of the brothers-in-law, instructing a guest on the use of the riding lawn mower the poor guy is now sitting astride of.

The mower is running, so I can't hear much of what is being said, but Jay's eyes are brighter than usual. Whatever is going around, he has it, and he may be the alpha case. The guest roars off at full tilt, trying to keep to a straight line in his excitement. Frank, the other brother-in-law is sprawled in a lawn chair with his eyes closed. It must be break time.

I ask Jay about the power tools and he seems pleased. He warns about the possibility of conflicts, due to his project, but smiles reassuringly and says that we can work that out. Frank is awake now and asks me in for a demo of his new "photo printer". It is a happy respite for both of us, but not to last. Jay's hammer begins to ring again over the chain saws and wood chipper. And they sound closer, like they're following me. My beloved arrives at the door, breaking up the demo, and announces that the lumberyard crew is back and that she has caught the tree guys before they left and they are taking down our dead Ironwood tree. Her eyes are very bright.

I look in the mirror before going off to the lumberyard, the count is short two boards, and my eyes seem to look normal. I will get drunk tonight and hope for a better day tomorrow.



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Replies: 1 Comment

Here's to Jay and his circular saw!

teeney said @ 08/27/2003 10:12 AM CST