Tuesday, September 11, 2007, 20:33
Cold and Windy!
What a change. Last week it was hot and humid and Tuesday morning, the wind picked up out of the north and it is downright cold and windy outside. The sun is shining and there are puffy white clouds. But it is cold.
The weather forecast says there is the possibility of frost tonight and I believe it. Frost will kill off some of the ragweed and pigweed. But it could also damage my squash, which, in spite of the squash bugs, are still working on getting ripe. I haven't seen many squash bugs on the squash, so I think we ought to cover the squash tonight. The squash stands a chance of getting ripe. There's not much hope for the pumpkins. We have six field pumpkins that might be all right. And that's it. The rest were destroyed by the squash bugs.
At any rate, the cooler weather is a welcome change. My kitty cats, however, think it is too cold and windy to be outside today. They went out first thing Tuesday morning, and an hour later, they were ready to come back inside.
I have spent most of the day trying to chase down information for the newspaper about a trucking firm in town that went out of business abruptly. Truck drivers were informed by e-mail that the company was closing and were told to leave their trucks and find their own way home. They don't even know if they will be getting their final paychecks. Just a sign of the times and the bad economy, I suppose. I hope there are not more company closings coming down the pike, but I also suppose it is a possibility.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Monday, September 10, 2007, 06:41
No Brakes
If it's not one thing, it's something else. I was coming home from a meeting for the newspaper Wednesday evening after dark when a deer jumped out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes to avoid the deer -- and the one waiting to cross on the shoulder.
The brake pedal caught, hesitated and then went all the way to floor. And the brake light on the dash came on and stayed on. I pretty much figured I had blown a brake line. (I did not hit the deer or the one waiting to cross, thank goodness.)
I carefully drove the quarter of a mile to the next side road and called Randy. Then I waited for a half an hour for him to come so he could drive behind me into town. It wasn't the first time I drove that stretch of road with little or no brakes. I blew a brake line going to a meeting in the same town a few years ago. That one blew when I was backing out of my parking space. But here's a question, though: what good are brakes when they blow when you need them the most?
I made it into town all right with no problems and left my truck at the car dealership so they could take a look at it the next day.
Thursday I had to drive Randy to work first thing in the morning so I could use his truck for newspaper work. The state treasurer was going to be in town trying to give back unclaimed property the state is holding. All together, Wisconsin has more than $300 million in unclaimed property it is holding. The state treasurer was a fascinating woman to talk to.
Thursday night after I went back to get Randy, I picked up my truck. When I got in to drive home, I discovered I had less brakes than before they fixed it! When I got home, Randy said maybe there was a bubble in the brake line that had to work its way out.
Driving through heavy downtown traffic four times on Friday with very little braking ability was not much fun, let me tell you. The truck still has practically less brakes than it did after the main brake line blew. When the truck finally stops, the pedal is to the floor. I suppose I will have to take it back to tell them I still don't have any brakes after they fixed it. Like I always say: going is good, but stopping can be even better in certain circumstances.
LeAnn R. Ralph