July 29, 2020

The road construction on the side street that runs right beside our house has finally begun. Let me tell you, these workers contracted by the county are real go-getters! They were on the job Monday morning at 6:45 am. We’ve since discovered that is their regular starting time.

We were in bed asleep Monday morning at 6:45 am. Did I mention that our bedroom window looks out onto that street? I can tell you that is the absolute best alarm clock ever.

Monday was a very interesting day, and very noisy until they finally quit at some point after 5 p.m. We did get a couple of quiet breaks—one that was probably their lunch hour. I guess one of the downfalls of living quietly most of the time is that when the noise comes to visit, it’s a guest you really can’t tolerate well for an entire day.

I have to admit that I haven’t personally kept up on the improvements in road construction equipment over the years. Frankly, construction equipment of any kind has never been of interest to me. David, of course, is quite knowledgeable on the subject and can even get excited about it. During his professional career, he has taken heavy equipment courses, and was certified to operate several pieces, from graders to backhoes.

So I thought he would be the one to ask my most recent burning question. Now, please bear with me because I am about to get technical, and I do apologize. They have this big thingy with a round thingy on the end that looks like a lawn roller, only it’s not for lawns because it’s so big. But wait, there’s more. It doesn’t just roll, it vibrates!

The street outside our house where this thingy was working on Monday and was again on Tuesday is about maybe ten feet from the house itself. And my question to David was this: has anyone ever tested this “vibratory compactor-roller” on the Richter scale?

Seriously, folks, I was sitting in my recliner late Monday afternoon when they began to use this roller for the first time, and I’m thinking: if I wanted a vibrating recliner, I would have bought one. And then I notice the clock on the wall is vibrating, and my cup on the end table is vibrating, as is my entire house. I do not want to re-enact the fall of Jericho. I do not want to see my walls come tumbling down.

My husband tells me that if that happens, the town has to pay for it. I remind him that town = government, and they tend not to like to take responsibility for anything. And I did attempt to look up on Google to answer that question of whether or not that vibratory compactor-roller has been tested vis-à-vis the Richter scale, and the response I got was Google’s interpretation of clapping its hands over its ears while yelling la-la-la-la-la.

David is enjoying the process of roadwork now that it has finally begun. He has a front row seat to the work, and by the time the workers quit on Tuesday, I’m certain every member of the crew knew his name.

For my part, I’m doing my best to ignore the process and work on my edit. The problem for me in that regard is that my ability to focus is not as keen as once it was. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve needed to bring more force of will to bear when it comes to the art of concentration. I dare not, during work time, go online for anything except looking up something very specific for my manuscript in progress.

It’s far too easy for me to get sucked down a rabbit-hole—any rabbit hole.

Monday night I went to bed earlier than usual, because I was more tired than usual, most likely because of the noise. The same thing happened last night. Before the clock struck 10, I was yawning so much, my eyes watered.

David has forgone his afternoon naps the last couple of days. Monday was especially noisy and even he, who takes out his hearing aids when he naps, wouldn’t have been able to get to sleep. Yesterday had been a little less loud, and he could have slept—but he was far more interested in watching the work.

The result is that he’s come to bed earlier than usual, too. But I really don’t believe he thinks that is too high of a price to pay for being transported back, visiting again that world of men and earth and powerful machines that was his career for so many years.

Love,
Morgan
http://www.morganashbury.com
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury