We got our stimulus checks. We had some Christmas money (my mother’s version of a stimulus check). And then we got a Federal tax refund. Sparky determined that we need to spend some money. Then fate intervened to determine how we were going to dole that cash into the economy. The garage door decided to die. It had had problems off and on for the last 10 years. Seems that the spring would break every 18 months and we’d have it replaced. When we were getting the house painted last August I suggested that it was time for a replacement/upgrade. Sparky pooh-poohed the idea. To save some money, he bolted the lose stability strips to the door – twice as the bolts pulled out the first time. Well, when the garage door repairman came out to repair the spring he told us that he couldn’t do the work in good conscience. Seems the little wheels that roll on the track were shot – of the 16 wheels, 4 were not even on the track and half of the remaining ones were so worn they were more square than round. The track itself was off kilter and probably part of the reason it kept breaking the spring. So a new garage door was ordered and we were anxiously awaiting the arrival. The company said it would arrive in 10 weeks. We were pleasantly surprised when the door arrived in 7 weeks and was installed just a few days later.
Then there was the issue of the driveway. It had slowly been crumbling. There were so many cracks and areas where the cement has tilted or sunken that it was impossible to shovel during the winter. It was a trip hazard. It was so uneven that to play basketball resulted in the ball taking bad bounces and ankles being at risk of being broken. This has been an ongoing issue that we had resolved to fix during the COVID shutdown. Sadly the company we had contacted was so crazy busy that they said they couldn’t give us an estimate last year. We called again this year and they can’t come out for an estimate until August! As luck would have it, neighbors just down the street had their driveway repoured. Sparky went and talked to the guys. A few hours later we had an estimate. Ten minutes after the estimate we asked when they could start. It took them 1 day to get the driveway torn out, leveled, and compacted. The next day it was poured. They came out 2 days later to cut the stress joints. We had to park on the street for a week as it cured. It was completed way before the garage door ever arrived.
As I was coming across the bridge I could see a red pickup truck (one of those really big ones) slowing down. Behind the truck was a little silver car with vanity plate that said “MONET GP” that was closing fast on the truck. I thought to myself, “Well that car had better slow down or they are going to crawl up into the bed of the truck.” And in an instant I saw the walkers start to cross the street, the truck had come to a stop, and the little silver car swerved to go around the truck. I was at least 5 car lengths back and had slowed to a near stop. I gasped as it all unfolded in slow motion.
A Different Perspective 