YOU'RE NOT JEWISH, ARE YOU?

   There's been big progress out at WSSP. The most pressing obstacle overcome has been the drilling of a 205 foot well. We have water (inside the house)! You can't imagine the joy of dropping off the kids at the pool and watching as they swirl out of sight, with a gentle gurgle. IT'S A BOY! Scatological humor aside, it's a major step towards habitation of the old farm house. Then, a few days after the well trucks pulled out, the flash floods hit. We sit in a little holler. The Shingle Creek crosses the road a couple of hundred yards up hill and a small drainage ditch almost hugs the house. We put a culvert in the ditch in order to drill the well, and decided to leave it for the extra real estate. Big mistake.

   It's been the wettest summer on record in the Northeast, but last week it got worse. Torrential rains pounded the ridges and water came down in buckets full. The road washed out, along with our new driveway and culvert. If the well trucks had still been on the hill they would've ended up in the wires. But, to our surprise and delight, the house was spared. Basement dry, work continued.

   I had hired a taper. Harold had decided to postpone rehab. for one last job. A bottle of vodka before coffee break, and two warm beers before lunch, Harold laid it on thick. He alternated between  "What a fucking mess." and "Beautiful!" Two days later he disappeared. We still haven't found him. Taper #2- Pat was a sneaky SOB who stole mud from the job sight to do a side job at lunch time. That's just not right. When I called him on it, he walked, leaving the taping to me. He said he could tell when a job soured. I can imagine he's had that feeling a lot. Oh well. I had control once again, whether I wanted it or not.

   Through all this SK has been coming and going, filling woodwork, painting, buying an ancient Chambers stove that weighs as much of a truck, and I even met her daughter TB, a cute as a button 13 year old shark expert, who can feed deer out of her hand. Hunting season could be problematic. Then, last week, SK was crossing Denison's Ford when a Hassidic Rabbi and a small boy waved her car down. The boy did the talking. "Are you Jewish?" "No." "Is your mother Jewish?" "No." Why the religious quiz?  SK wondered.  Then the young boy pointed up the road. Seems a gaggle of crock pots, cooking the feast, had thrown a breaker. The Lord would not allow them to throw the switch. SK was happy to oblige. The Little Green Man shall provide. Welcome to Sullivan County.