Something Stupid!

Saturday Morning...

Here I am, writing in my blog when I ought to be at work.

So, why is that?  Did I get fired?  Am I sick?  Am I playing hooky?

Nope.  None of the above.

The reason I'm at home on my computer, sipping a hazelnut latte and writing in this blog, is because somebody did something stupid.

Breaking News!

We've had some new construction going on nearby for a few months now.  They've got the building mostly up, the parking lot asphalted, the enclosure for the Dumpster built...and this week, they started laying some underground power lines.  This morning, they'd gotten to right in front of our building when one or more of the diggers hit a gas line.  Not a minor one, either--one of the biggies.  The fire department showed up, inspected, and finally told us to clear out.  Which we did.  According to the firemen, somebody's going to have to come from the city to make the repair, after which we have to wait for the gas in the air to dissipate.  They'll notify us when it's safe to come back.

Now, I've had minor gas leaks in my home before, primarily due to changes the gas company has made from time to time--such as replacing a gas main or installing a higher-pressure meter.  I am quite familiar with the smell of mercaptan.  But the little whiffs I've encountered were nothing compared to the miasma I walked through as I left the store at my fastest walking speed.  It's not a good atmosphere for lighting a cigarette,  I can tell you.

Aren't Builders Supposed To Call First?

Here's the thing.  When a project like this is going on, all the utility companies are supposed to be notified ahead of time, so they can mark where all their lines are and how deeply they're buried.  I never saw any of those bright paint arrows on the ground, at least not where they dug this morning.  No marker flags, either.  So somebody screwed up, and badly.

Meanwhile, our store loses business, and the workers lose wages.  All because somebody didn't call before they dug.

Oh, well...

I don't get paid for this mini-vacation.  I'll be behind on all my tasks when I get back today (provided there are no complications that prevent us from returning).

But oh, well...at least I had a great story to tell on my blog.  Happy 2020. everybody!