Crap Prolog

Well, after a week in the hotel, and getting the major areas cleaned up, the insurance adjustor came out to see the place.

We have decided to call out another plumber to try and clear the blockage and worry about 'who's at fault' later.

The house is in chaos. Furniture was pushed and things moved and the frustration of getting life back to some sort of order is at hand...

My dead line is tomorrow, so I will take Tuesday off to help straighten up...

And additional cleaning is on the list.


Other than that

Life is Good.

CRAP!!! V

the latest of five...

"the city just left, bad news. the blockage is
two feet
from the main.
city ordinance says citizens are responsible for their line to the main"


We're fucked...

"Channel 4 news, we need to make a stink"

Crap!!! part IIII

(It is recommended that readers should read the earlier entry Begining with "Crap" and progress in order of ' Crap parts II, III, and this one' to get the best story)

It has been interesting to reflect on the "he said, she said" nature of this event.

"Dear, the city tech who came out the first day is here, but he's going to charge us $75.00."

"Please be nice to him sweet heart, Super all around woman asked that we be super nice to the city."

Unfortunately, the City hasn't been super nice to us...
***
Update.

We have extended our hotel stay through Friday when the cleaning crew will get back to clean up.

"Mr. Bunny, this is G with the cleaning company. We called your insurance company and they don't have a record of you. Are you insured with them?"

" (here we go again...) Yes. I'm paid up and have the statments to prove it. I am with Joe"

"Yes, I know Joe".

"We're with him".
***
"Honey, what's Super all around Woman's number? The technitian said the tree roots have buckled our line. And that he cleaned it out, and said that it was the plumber's responsibility to have cleaned it out. I told him I want proof! I want a camera down the line to prove it's clean. Other wise it will back up on us"

***
"Honey, guess what? I called Super all around woman (SAAM). She called the City and only an hour later they have located a camera for the sewer line.
And it shows a blockage at 40'"

"What?! That can't be so, I watched him last night and it was at 75' with problems beginning at the property line.

"It is full of water."

"Wait, it was clear last night"

"That's right. It's filling up...and we haven't been home to fill it...The jet truck is on it's way. They are going to flush the main".

***

To be continued...

Crap!!! part III

After a restless night suffering from "S.B.D", strange bed disorder and just a little bit of stress, I made it off to work.

Z called late that afternoon in tears.

"I can't get the internet to work in our room! I'm tired and I need to check my email for work! I called the adjustor, who was supposed to call by 5:00pm today and he won't call me back."

"It'll be okay dear", I reasured and we hung up.

Ten minutes later she again called.
There have been a lot of phone calls.
Very distracting on a dead line..
But then having sewer line trouble is very distracting...

"The insurance company says that because it's not on our property, they will not cover it".

"WHAT!?!

CRAP!!!

"We have our house, both cars, the Harley, and the new house with All State. I'll give our rep a call and see what he can do. Surely he can help!"

"Well Mr. Bunny, I just attended a seminar on 'write outs' and your coverage may still include backed up sewers. I'll get back to you."

CRAP!!!

"Guess what dear, we may NOT be covered, with the Insurance that is...
I'll put in a call into Super all around Woman!"
Now I was begining to panic...
***
Remember the cleaning crew and the $1,100.00 deductable?
Well I hadn't.
The company doesn't take American Express.

The only card we have with that much available..
(we are paying everything down, the Amex happens to be first in line)

CRAP!!!

"Cleaning dude, I can write this check to you, but if you cash it tomorrow, it will bounce. I have post dated it for Saturday, I get paid Friday."

"Don't worry, I'll keep it with my records. They just want to make sure I have collected the money."

Later at the hotel Z called in for a temporary pin number for a cash advance.

Max allowed was $500.00 so I did the same...

"We are really close to a cascade catastrophe here" I told myself...

"Fortunately we have cash for food".
***
Super all around Woman
is first and formost, a friend,
second, our real estate broker,
and at the same time,
a Real Estate Attorney, licenced in the Great State of Texas.

And maybe best of all, Really Fiesty!

"Well Bunnylicious (we met when I was single), the Insurance companies have been writing things Out of policies and it is your responsiblilty to keep up with what is covered...
We have to go after the city. Who have you spoken with at the City".

"No one. they haven't called me back. But I did lodge a service request at the city web site and emailed my city rep."

"Give me their names and I'll make some calls tomorrow morning".

Amazing how fast someone will perk up an listen when it is known an attorney is involved...

Felt bad today that it had to come that.

Glad I have a friend who is an attorney.

"There will be a technician from the city out this afternoon to check."

Crap!!! part II

Back in the front yard, Mr. Plumber has set up his 'tunnel cam'.
I stopped to watch.

"There's your line. It's cast iron. Looks good."

"It's about 33 years old, how long will they last?"

"Oh, I'd say this one is in good shape and will last another 40 years."

"See there", the cast iron had changed to an orange color and we could see the connection, "that's the city line, it's clay pipe. Somethings wrong here. Uh oh, it's holding water, it should be a constant pitch". He backed it up to get a better look.

At the point where the city line connected, there was a small bit of root and the pipe obviously pitched down wards and into "that's some goo on the lense. Bud, go in and flush the toilet a couple of times. It will clean it off".

And it did. We continued our spelunk into our sewer.

The clay pipes continued in 3 foot sections disapearing into some water, which should not be there.

Finally it cleared and we again could see the line.

And at last we saw the culpret, a mass of white stringy tree roots blocked our path.
"Let me mark that".
He located the camera across the street at the curb and about 6'-0" down.

"X" marked the spot. "Tell them, that's where they will find their problem. But the City's going to have to repair that".

"That's the city's line, it's their responsibility. No plumber would touch that because it's the city's line. That, as they say, 'is the rest of the story'."

"I'll take a polaroid and you can give it to the city and tell them that's the problem."

He began to back his camera out of the sewer, wiping it down with a rag as it came up.
***
Remember those "blue gloved technicians" in part one?
***
Mr. Plumber wasn't wearing gloves...
Simply wiped his hands down...

Makes me question what

the Truth

actually is regarding sewers.

"Maybe he's buit up imunity over the years?, said Zelda...

Anyway...

Zelda and I packed up the cat children and headed over to the "Pets welcome!" Holiday Inn.

Gaea is freaking out... but she did snuggle last night...
Maybe we could take the cat children with us on vacation...

um... no.
***
The polaroid didn't come out well.

Crap!!!

Monday started out like any other Monday.
Off to work for the man cranking out yet another Convience Store cuz, hey, the world needs more c-stores.

Spoke to Z around lunch time to say, "hi", cuz, we're like that.

At one thirty I got a call from Z,

"The washing machine drain backed up and we have water in the garage and all the drains are backing up!!"

There was panic in her voice.

"The sinks are filling up. There's water in the bath room!"

G-d had decided to punish this pagaen with a flood.

"Call the insurance company and get things going. But first shut off the water, sweet heart".

"Where's the shut off?"

Uh oh...

"Stop by the big box and pick up a wet dry vac, please."

I let the boss know I needed to get home, a sewer line problem...

By the time I was pulling into the big box Z called to let me know she had:
1) Called the insurance emergency line and they had
2) suggested she call the emergency clean up company, which she did.
3) She also called Mom and Dad who recommended she call the City of Bunnyville, and
4) Forget about the wet dry vac.

The city truck pulled up about the time I did.
Wrong water problem.
Call out the sanitary sewer guys.

I surveyed the damage and started taking photos, secure in the knowledge that we have insurance and this will be taken care of.

I had a plumbing problem 5 years ago but had declined to use a clean up crew.
$1,000.00 to rent fans and driers and I'd still have to hire someone else to replace the carpet pads.

I pulled the pads myself. Bought a bunch of box fans and commensed to blowing.

Never did get the pads replaced...

That was clean water...

This time it was not.

Old Man at the office suggested a plumber who does only snaking, no repairs, so I gave him a call.

He showed up about 7:30 or so. Seems there are a lot of backed up toilets in the world.
Big truck and lots of toys.

He snaked the line into the house.
"Your line into the house is clean, but I found a problem at 75' ".
"My yard isn't that deep".
A sense of relief and at the same time, concern washed over me.
"That has to be the City line", I said.

"Well, I have a video camera and we can send it down. It has a radio transmitter on it and we can locate exactly where the problem is..."

While this was going on in the front yard, the cleaning company was busy checking walls and ripping off base trim. A pre treatment by blue gloved technitians killed any possible contaminants. "It smells just like a caugh drop". (And it does, as does the house).

"40 % moisture in the wall at the washing machine. It has soaked up about a foot into the walls.
I'll call the office and find out exactly what your policy covers. We can pack out your funiture, clean it and return it."

"In the mean time, you have a $1,100.00 deductable from All State. You pay that and your insurance should cover all the rest".

"Great!", I thought, "Where am I going to get $1,100.00?"

Christmas Party

The world in which we live, the vast expanse of the Universe we experience is confined to the space between our left and right ear.

This observation was apparent last night at the annual office party where current long term employees talked about the adventures they had with some colorful former employees.

There was the new secretary who on the third day of work called in with a Dentist appointment that day and never showed her face again.

There was the secretary who had an affair with one of the staff, both of whom were married to someone else. Sex was had on coworker's desks...

It turned out that all of the wives, except the staff member in question, knew about it, but none of the staffers believed them.

Then there is Cowboy who was using his hands to dig through the olives, dropping some and digging for more, instead of using the available tooth picks. He was heard later telling a client, "I f*ing drew your whole building". Old Man drew the building. Coach drew the building. Cowboy traced what he thought was the building, and Old Man came behind him cleaning up his mistakes.

Then there is Mr. HH who is a registered Architect, adopted a child from another country, is highly intellegent, who felt he didn't have anything to say to the abundance of party goers...

Yes, it's all in our heads...

Holidays - Holy Days

Tuesday evening Zelda, Zelda Mommy, and I went to a choral performance of liturgical

music.

Much from hundreds of years ago.

Most of it was about either the Mother of the Child, or the birth of the child.

Although the majority was in old English, French, or Latin, the emotion didn't need translation.

Now I do not have children. But it occured to me that this emotion must be close to what it is like to experience the birth of your own child.

Which lead to the thought that Christianity has taken center stage and made the Holiday something OutSide us.

G*d is born through this girl thousands of years ago. And the holiday is all-about-him.

When I looked at the perpective of the Birth reflecting the Joy of Birth (yours, mine, your children's), then I was suddenly Part-of-the-Holiday.

It was about US,

and not someone else.

I think Christmas would be so much better if that was its focus.

As would the world.

Tour of Homes

Last night was the Bunny Town show of homes.

Only four houses this time.

An old one,
and remodeled one,
a historic one,
and a new "old" one.

And more interesting than the homes were the owners.

A pianist and his partner who has played Carnegie Hall and has six of seven victrolas in the oldest home.
I'd like to know him.

A young 'interior designer' and her husband, who are Christian and felt it in their heart that they should move to Bunny Town and buy my favorite home in town.

(I got to see inside a home I've wanted to own since I was in High School throwing news papers on Bunny Town Ave.)

It has a Rookwood fire place.
It was less about the house and mainly about the interior designer, but hey, she owns the house and I don't. So she obviously knows something I don't.
I would not have advertised the original tiffiny lamp in the front room.
(Other homes in other years have been broken into after showing their homes and expensive items stolen)

The concrete block house built south of town by a farmer and his family, now owned and remodeled by two gentlemen who have very (miami beach?) eclectic tastes and nice art.
I'd like to know them as well. They seem like they are good people. Lots of art every where.

And finally the mother/daughter team remodeling a "new victorian" build in the mid 80's.
They were having fun learing about the victorian era and sharing it with us.

(Did you know that it was thought un thinkable for a gentleman to give up his seat to a lady because when she sat down.... the seat would be warm...thus lots of extra seats in the parlor!)

Zelda mama is coming to visit this week so I must be off to clean the guest room for her.

Tour of Homes

Last night was the Bunny Town show of homes.

Only four houses this time.

An old one,
and remodeled one,
a historic one,
and a new "old" one.

And more interesting than the homes were the owners.

A pianist and his partner who has played Carnegie Hall and has six of seven victrolas in the oldest home.
I'd like to know him.

A young 'interior designer' and her husband, who are Christian and felt it in their heart that they should move to Bunny Town and buy my favorite home in town.

(I got to see inside a home I've wanted to own since I was in High School throwing news papers on Bunny Town Ave.)

It has a Rookwood fire place.
It was less about the house and mainly about the interior designer, but hey, she owns the house and I don't. So she obviously knows something I don't.
I would not have advertised the original tiffiny lamp in the front room.
(Other homes in other years have been broken into after showing their homes and expensive items stolen)

The concrete block house built south of town by a farmer and his family, now owned and remodeled by two gentlemen who have very (miami beach?) eclectic tastes and nice art.
I'd like to know them as well. They seem like they are good people. Lots of art every where.

And finally the mother/daughter team remodeling a "new victorian" build in the mid 80's.
They were having fun learing about the victorian era and sharing it with us.

(Did you know that it was thought un thinkable for a gentleman to give up his seat to a lady because when she sat down.... the seat would be warm...thus lots of extra seats in the parlor!)

Zelda mama is coming to visit this week so I must be off to clean the guest room for her.

Tour of Homes

Last night was the Bunny Town show of homes.

Only four houses this time.

An old one,
and remodeled one,
a historic one,
and a new "old" one.

And more interesting than the homes were the owners.

A pianist and his partner who has played Carnegie Hall and has six of seven victrolas in the oldest home.
I'd like to know him.

A young 'interior designer' and her husband, who are Christian and felt it in their heart that they should move to Bunny Town and buy my favorite home in town.

(I got to see inside a home I've wanted to own since I was in High School throwing news papers on Bunny Town Ave.)

It has a Rookwood fire place.
It was less about the house and mainly about the interior designer, but hey, she owns the house and I don't. So she obviously knows something I don't.
I would not have advertised the original tiffiny lamp in the front room.
(Other homes in other years have been broken into after showing their homes and expensive items stolen)

The concrete block house built south of town by a farmer and his family, now owned and remodeled by two gentlemen who have very (miami beach?) eclectic tastes and nice art.
I'd like to know them as well. They seem like they are good people. Lots of art every where.

And finally the mother/daughter team remodeling a "new victorian" build in the mid 80's.
They were having fun learing about the victorian era and sharing it with us.

(Did you know that it was thought un thinkable for a gentleman to give up his seat to a lady because when she sat down.... the seat would be warm...thus lots of extra seats in the parlor!)

Zelda mama is coming to visit this week so I must be off to clean the guest room for her.

Opera time

Zelda is not a big Opera fan, but she did want to see a couple of performances this year.

Fortunately for me, this last Friday was one of them, the Barber of Seville, by Rossini.

Thanks for joining me Z!

A very wonderful Date night!

(for anyone old enough to remember Bugs Bunny on Saturday mornings, check the link below!)

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe3c157075670479751679-fdeb1574736c0c7f72137975-ff011577746706-fecb13707d61047d-fdf4157570600674751c7874