Weekly Rants, Raves, and Whatever

WRRW is back after a two-week hiatus due to the aftermath of two powerful storms that raked the St. Louis area the week of July16-22. During that time, we lost power at the MercResidence twice, the first outage lasting about 12 hours, and the second lasting 5 days. During that span, Mrs MercMan and I learned to live in the basement to escape near-100-degree temperatures, dine by candlelight, sleep on an air mattress, and come to regard bags of ice as a more desirable investment than indexed mutual funds. The amount of tree damage/downed power lines in North County was significant, and greatly impeded the utility crews and tree trimmers who worked long days to get the lights back on. The worst part was on Saturday following the second storm when many area businesses were without power, and finding gas, ice, and food became a real challenge. By Sunday evening, stores were reopened, the lines at the filling stations were gone, and ice(!) could be secured without having to go through a ration line at the local 7-11. After 5 days of living like cave dwellers, we awoke on Wednesday, July 26 to the sound of utility trucks on our street as crews made one last check of the neighborhood prior to energizing our grid. At about 8:50 a.m., the lights came on, the air conditioner started expelling all the humidity the house had absorbed, and Mrs. MercMan and I danced in the cold draft of our risen-from-the-dead HVAC system. All in all, it wasn't that bad, but we are sure a lot more comfortable living off the fat of the land than pretending we're Amish! Thanks to all the folks who worked tirelessly in sometimes brutal weather to get our town back on its feet.

*In celebration of power restoration, I visited Lowe's last Sunday and used the birthday gift card given to me by Gimlet and Froggiegirl to purchase a new router bit. The new attachment allows me to make cabinet doors, drawers, and corner joints with tongue-and-groove edges, and works great in my router table. I had purchased a new Craftsman jig saw during the blackout (hey, think positive, I say), but hadn't gotten the chance to try it out. I had to settle for holding the saw in the dark and making electric motor noises, which is pretty pathetic.

*Staying on the tool theme, I was at the Sears Hardware Store on my lunch break this week and found the 2 horsepower stationary router I'd been coveting for months was finally on sale. I bought it then and there, and that night mounted it in my router table, freeing my combination stationary/plunge router for other duties. The new router is really sweet, and can fling wood chips with the best of them. It's time to invest another small fotune in wood and give my woodworking skills a real tune-up.

*Top news item for the week is our putting money down on a Golden Retriever puppy at Sievers Kennels in Meppen, Illinois. After our beloved Golden passed away almost 20 years ago, Mrs. MercMan and I had often talked about another dog, but it wasn't until recently that we really got things going. The newest member of our family turns 3 weeks-old today, but will stay with her Momma until she's 7 weeks old. In about 2 weeks, we'll take the Golden Eagle Ferry across the Mighty Mississippi to visit our new friend, and bring her home a couple weeks after that. We know that as a typical puppy, our Golden will drive us wacky from time to time, but it'll be awesome to have the house come alive as 65 pounds of lumbering Retriever practices its hunting skills in a 1000-square-foot house. We're already stocking up on tennis balls and Milk Bones!

*By the way, Goldens rule and Labs drool!

*Today, we have a new crisis on our street. I went outside this morning when I heard a couple of my neighbors talking excitedly on the sidewalk. Venturing outside, I saw a large amount of water sluicing down the street as if someone had left a hose running in the gutter full blast. Investigating a bit, I found a small geyser of water spewing from the driveway of the house just up the street. A call to the local water company brought out a tech, who, after much careful consideration, concurred that water probably was NOT supposed to flow from concrete. He marked the area with paint and planted a red flag, apparently to alert everyone that the huge puddle was wet and slippery. We are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of Missouri-American Water Company and the attendant shutoff of our water supply. Did you ever try to bathe in bottled water?

*Everone have a great week, and pray we don't have another utility crisis. I'm ready to get back to normal happenings in North County like grand theft auto and drive-by shootings!