A Taste of Frankenstorm

 

Monday, October 29, 2012 – A Taste of Frankenstorm

Rain started during the night.  So far, it’s just moderate rain with a little wind.  From time to time, our sump pump comes on.  We’ll be inside all day today so there’s no point in getting dressed in “real” clothes.  If (when) the power goes out, I’ll light some candles, make some tea (using the gas stove), and cozy up to my fully-charged Kindle Fire until bedtime.  Before that, maybe we’ll have a neighborhood get-together to feast on all of our perishable food.  

That reminds me – there are two kinds of neighbors.  On one side of my house, I have the good neighbors.  We celebrate birthdays together, bring over soup when someone is sick, help out with rides, etc.  On the other side, I have the – well, other neighbors.  It isn’t that they’re evil; they’re just oblivious.  Here’s the most recent example:  At the end of last week, when it was clear Frankenstorm was headed our way, the news reporters were warning homeowners to clear the leaves from the storm drains prior to the heavy downpours.  So on Saturday I went out with my rake and cleared out the leaves and muck.  My good neighbors had done the same to their storm drain earlier in the day.  But on the other side of my house, the storm drain was still full.  As long as I was out there raking, I went ahead and continued until I’d cleared that storm drain, too.  It just seemed like a neighborly thing to do.  I didn’t want to see any water backing up anywhere on the street. 

Well, the rain started on Sunday night, and when I went out to pick up the newspaper at 7 on this morning, I went to check to see how the water was flowing through the storm drains.  Surprise!  Instead of a river running through my storm drain, I saw a lake next to my driveway.  That other neighbor had raked all the leaves from his yard and piled a mountain of them into the storm drain in front of his house, creating a dam.  Solution?  Instead of immediately pounding on their door and berating them for their idiocy, I waited until the light went on in their kitchen and made a polite phone call to inform them of the situation. 

Maybe, hopefully, someday, they’ll turn into good neighbors, but I’m not overly optimistic.  After they moved in a couple of years ago, they must have done some bathroom remodeling, because three toilets appeared in their backyard, as if they were some exotic plants or sculptures.  They stayed out there for months.  And when it was time to plan Elliott’s 100^th birthday party, we didn’t think our guests would appreciate the toilet view during the festivities.  Elliott had to make a personal request for them to remove the ceramic pieces (which they did, to their credit).  But as you can see, there’s not much reason to expect a transformation of these particular neighbors.  And needless to say, they will not be joining us for the Frankenstorm party.