Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I thought I would get a jump on next week’s article while I sit here waiting for my rock to arrive. We are talking about limestone…gravel rock…the stuff that finds a way to hit your car windshield type of rock. I live on a short private lane; a lane that was cut from the main road down to the lake which allowed several houses to be built along the road, of which one is mine. The road obviously does not get a lot of traffic since it is a cul-de-sac, but nonetheless it generates more than its fair share of potholes. Since the holes appear in about the same place every few years, I believe they are left over holes from trees that were removed to make the road, and the undersoil was never properly packed down with good fill and rock. So after a few winters of hot and cold, rain and snow, the holes re-open despite being dragged and covered with a layer of rock every so often. This year has been pretty brutal on the lane with all of the freezing and thawing; there are probably a dozen holes, of which at least three would make you bounce in your car seat. So the road does need the maintenance, and I am tired of driving snake-like to avoid each pothole, but what irks me most about this is that it seems that I am the only one on this road that will fork out any real money to try and keep the lane in decent shape. The others might get a local farmer to drag the road once a year but that is small potatoes in paying for three truckloads of gravel. Maybe they will have a change of heart as we celebrate “wearing the green” this Saturday…helping them to loosen their grip on their green….if you get my drift. Unlikely, but I can dream. Did you know that the first Irish parade in the United States was on March 17, 1762, in New York City, and it is said the shortest parade in the United States is in Hot Springs Arkansas, a full 98 feet…the distance from one pub to the next! At least, if they want to go to another bar for some green beer, they don’t have to worry about drinking and driving.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
May the roof above us never fall in, and may the friends gathered below it never fall out (Irish Blessing).
QUICKIES
Overheard: “I am not saying my boss isn’t smart…I am just saying he returned a tie to the store complaining that it was too tight.
Overheard: “I had to let my new assistant go. I gave her some file folders and told her to make some labels for them. She returned an hour later, crying because she could not get the folders to fit in the printer.”
Overheard: “I am not saying he is on medication, but the other day he told me was going to give up trying to learn to water ski because he couldn’t find a lake in the area with a slope.”
Overheard: “I knew my blind date was not going to be the girl for me when she tried to peel the M&Ms.”
That is all I have for today and I am still waiting for my truck to show up. As always, be good, do good, play safe, and remember: Irish or not, watch the number of pints you drink.
-JR
