18 wheeler

I was on the side of the road at Tupper Lakes, thumbing. It was early in the day still, noon, and I was in good spirits. Thunderstorms passed. Seeking a ride down and out of the Adirondacks, I held my thumb out hopefully at each passing vehicle.

Then, with wheezing brakes and seismic tremors, a huge bulk shuddered to a stop before me. It might as well have been a freight train, or a huge living creature from time immemorial. I ran along side it, to the cab. An 18-wheeler tractor/trailer had stopped for my thumb!

I grinned and could hardly believe it. My hands grabbed railings, my feet found the steps, and I bounded up into the cab.

"You're not an axe murderer, are you?" Demanded the driver, a jumpy fellow who seemed all arms. "I've got a gun!"

"Nah," He said. "You look like a good fellow. I don't normally stop for hitchhikers, but you looked alright."

The truck roared to life, accelerated to speed. From this vantage, SUV's were puny in front of us. I surveyed the arrays of switches on the console, all sparkly blue; the CB radio, tuned to nineteen; the shifter lever, illustrated with way beyond the familiar five speeds.

"What are you carrying," I asked. "A .44!" he replied, matter of factly. "Kidding. Pallets. Pallets for the Kraft Food factory. Hey, want a beer?" I declined, declined, and then accepted.

He turned up Santana on the radio and told me how he'd bought the truck out from the company, how he now enjoyed making his own hours. "Now they ask me, could you do this, instead of telling me, hey, do this!"

He sipped a budweiser. Reassurringly he sipped it slowly and infrequently, usually holding the bottle in his legs, keeping hands on the wheel at 10 and 2.

Twenty miles to the highway 30 / highway 3 junction. I poured my beer out into the grass beside the road.

the most excellent sandwich

Most excellent sandwich, eaten atop Rooster Comb, Adirondack Park. July 9, 2006.

hot tub saga continues

At long last the hot tub got hooked up today, for the second time, but maybe this time it will stick. As you may recall, it was purchased in January, transported February 20th, and initially fired up on April 1. Then it turned out that it had to be a few inches taller in order to meet city code without being surrounded by a fence, and it also turned out that the heating element had decided to expire. It also turned out that the installation contractor (Alan) had used the wrong sort of wire. It turned out, further, that the city inspector actually had to see the wires in the trenches, which we had already filled.

The trenches were re-dug. A new heating element was installed. The hot tub was emptied and moved aside. Railroad ties were acquired and set in place. The hot tub was moved to sit on top of the railroad ties, thereby reaching the statutory height. Shockingly most of this occurred while I was at Hanford or in California. Finally, today, Alan completed the new wiring and I fired the thing up. I added chemicals. I dare say, it is alive. It is also the hottest time of the summer. Right now we're content with a cold tub. The water was already 74 degrees.