Hole Outside our Window Update

Yesterday, while making the bed, I heard noises outside the window. My ever curious mind wanted to know what was going on - so I looked. An emergency gas truck (gas gas, not liquid gas) was parked just to the right of the repair in the road. These trucks, and the men in them, appear whenever there is a gas leak, or someone is working on the gas system in a building. This is the gas with which we cook and heat water for showers, dishes and laundry.

Four guys, three in suits, were standing in the street, talking to each other, eating. Ah, a perfect place for a late morning picnic. A fifth guy came around from behind the truck and in his hand he was carrying a clear plastic bag full of sweet rolls. The men stood talking, eating and occasionally laughing. When the rolls were finished, they brushed the crumbs off their hands and decided to take a look into the hole.

Standing in the street, bent over at awkward angles, each man took a turn viewing whatever it is in the hole that is so fascinating. I think it's a valve, or a connection to a bigger gas line. After looking, the fifth man, not in a suit, opened the back door of the gas truck and they all piled inside, shut the door and drove off.

Sometime later in the day I heard scraping noises. I went into the bedroom and looked out the window again. Ah! Two men with shovels were cleaning out the failed street repair again, scraping out broken pavement, dirt and rocks and throwing it all into the hole. Meanwhile, the street was once again down to less than one lane wide - this very busy, full of big trucks, marshrutkas and private cars street. That was it. That's all they did - made the dip deeper - and left. Traffic crawled to a creep at that point while cars gingerly dropped into, through and then out of the ditch, bump bump. For the rest of the day big trucks bounced and rattled, trolleybuses slowed and inch wormed their way through.

Around noon today, I went in the bedroom because I again heard noises outside and my curiosity was piqued. (is this an indication of how boring my life is?? I hope not!) Parked on the left side of the hole was a truck full of asphalt. On the far side of the street was a truck with a long low trailer attached to the back. Two men stood leaning on shovels, watching as a miniature steam roller rolled back and forth over the newly laid asphalt. Back and forth, forth and back. This side of the road, then the far side of the road. Traffic continued in the middle, one lane bumping over the new slight rise in the road. Soon the steam roller rolled up a ramp on to the trailer and the trucks all rumbled away.

The hole is still there - just fuller with broken pavement, rocks and dirt. Maybe later today or tomorrow or next week someone will come and throw all the debris out again.

Maybe someday someone will come and actually fix whatever the problem is. It may take another picnic to accomplish it - but that's ok with me.