This is my second post covering events of 2016. It has taken a while to get back to this work. Life has been intervening on a regular basis in recent weeks. So here is yet one more attempt to regain my former blogging form.
In Part 1 of my 2016 review, I covered through chilly February. As such, we pick up the action with -
MarchIn Part 1 of my 2016 review, I covered through chilly February. As such, we pick up the action with -
We shared our time at Disney with our good friends the Dyles and the Wyatts. Here they are with Nancy and me enjoying a quiet cocktail on the tree house deck.
A full review of this memorable trip (sort of as it was happening) was reported last year in a series of posts beginning with A Trip Chronicle - Part 1. I refer you to those earlier posts for the gory details. The trip held many surprises for me, including a wild (and hopefully my last) broom ride through Hogwarts.
But there were other things in March worth noting. Like the great power pole caper. About four years ago give or take, DTE came through the neighborhood changing out old power poles. The pole that serviced my house and that of my former neighbors was sort of on the property line, but really in the neighbor's yard, just behind our garages. The new pole was put in about six feet to the east, in my backyard. Once the new pole was in, DTE moved their wires and cut the top half of the pole off. The lower half had to stay, they said, until ATT and the two cable companies that service our area moved their wires to the new pole. Then according to DTE, the company that moved its wires last would take out the pole. Uh....right.
Well, three years went by with absolutely nothing happening. We had a new pole for electricity, and an old half pole for everything else. And since the neighbors were long gone (the house sharing the poles had stood empty for a couple of years), nobody cared. It was sort of a conversation piece. Then, the house next door was sold to a family who planned to tear it down and build a new home. The first time I met my soon-to-be-new neighbor, he asked about the old half pole, which was standing just about where he wanted to put in a driveway and garage. He said he had been contacting various utilities about the pole, and none of them would give him the time of day because he wasn't yet a customer. I can't remember if he asked for help or if I just, in a fit of neighborliness, offered. But when the conversation was over, I had a new item on my task list - look into getting the pole removed.
So I started making phone calls. Since then, I have learned a lot. Like any pole with power on it belongs to DTE. And that's gotta be 99%. Also, I learned that no one in the utility community coordinates the relocation of wires from old poles to new ones. Everyone just does their own work and assumes that the other companies will do theirs. Again, uh....right.
After at least three months of talking to Comcast, WOW and ATT customer service reps, and personally escorting their field workers back to visually inspect the two poles and the attached wires, I was able to embarrass them one by one into moving their wires. Problem solved, right? This time, uh....no. As luck would have it, the last company to move their wires was WOW, the newer cable company in the area. It turns out that WOW hasn't quite matured into a full service cable company. As their field man informed me, "We don't do poles". Well, they do climb them. And attach wires to them. But they don't take them out. Great.
Left with no alternative I went back to DTE, the big brother of all the local utilities. After hearing my sad tale, they grudgingly agreed to pull the pole. They were nice about it, but sort of made it clear that if WOW wanted to play in their sandbox, they should get their act together. So after another two visits out to size up the situation, and a couple more weeks to think it over, DTE came out with enough equipment to wire a small town and did the job. I have to admit, it was worth the wait. Here is a photo revue of what we now refer to as "pole day".
When DTE arrived and began backing their truck down my neighbor's drive, I was in the middle of my retirement morning routine. That would be lounging in my jams with a cup of coffee deep into a gripping Perry Mason episode. So it took me a couple of minutes to jump into my jeans and grab my camera. I caught up with the crew just as they were positioning their vehicle and its telescoping crane arm over the pole.
You can just make out in the above shot that there are three sets of wires running in front of the pole and three others running above it, complicating the extraction.
In this shot, taken from behind the garage, you can more clearly see the challenge facing our heroes.
From the next angle, you can see that the pole crane arm has grasped the pole and is gently pulling it straight up and out of the hole.
And here the extracted pole has been rotated 90 degrees and is being laid flat under the pesky wires. Note that there still seems to be something left in the hole.
It turns out that this pole, like most I'm told, was reinforced beneath the surface with a semi-circular steel sleeve (this one about 12 feet long), which also had to be removed. Here is a shot of the sleeve being coaxed off the job.
The hard part being over, the crew tucked the crane arm into its holster and began the clean up. Here is a closer shot of this very cool vehicle including its power-deployed side supports (just to the rear of the cab). If I am not mistaken they are just like the landing struts used by the Starship Voyager when it parks itself on a planet surface. Voyager's are probably a tad bigger.
Below is a pic of the clean up. About five guys appeared out of nowhere with bags of dirt and began dumping them into the now prominent former pole hole. They kept at it like a fire brigade until all signs of the hole were eliminated.
Having tidied up the area, all that was left was to drag the poor victim off for a proper disposal.
In this final shot, the expired half-pole has been lifted onto its temporary resting place for transport to wherever old power poles go. Perhaps to be re-purposed into fence posts or deck railings. Or for the less fortunate, firewood. I'm sort of glad I don't know.
Well there you have it. If you've never before witnessed the demise of a power pole, you can cross that one off your list.
Now, at the end of my aforementioned posts on our Florida trip in March of 2016, I had this final closing entry: Day 13. We packed. We loaded. We left. Thus endeth the trip, and this chronicle.
That wasn't entirely accurate. While the other members of the group did head for home, I headed back over to my mother's home in Zephyrhills to assist with some unexpected family business. That business kept me in Florida for an additional week. That time was pretty busy, but still afforded me the opportunity to hang out with my mom for a few more days and meet her new buddy - Lola. Here she is with her housemate Laci, introduced in the previous post.
The "threat",
And the "whack".
Maybe my terminology needs a little work, too.
It turns out that this pole, like most I'm told, was reinforced beneath the surface with a semi-circular steel sleeve (this one about 12 feet long), which also had to be removed. Here is a shot of the sleeve being coaxed off the job.
The hard part being over, the crew tucked the crane arm into its holster and began the clean up. Here is a closer shot of this very cool vehicle including its power-deployed side supports (just to the rear of the cab). If I am not mistaken they are just like the landing struts used by the Starship Voyager when it parks itself on a planet surface. Voyager's are probably a tad bigger.
Below is a pic of the clean up. About five guys appeared out of nowhere with bags of dirt and began dumping them into the now prominent former pole hole. They kept at it like a fire brigade until all signs of the hole were eliminated.
Having tidied up the area, all that was left was to drag the poor victim off for a proper disposal.
In this final shot, the expired half-pole has been lifted onto its temporary resting place for transport to wherever old power poles go. Perhaps to be re-purposed into fence posts or deck railings. Or for the less fortunate, firewood. I'm sort of glad I don't know.
Well there you have it. If you've never before witnessed the demise of a power pole, you can cross that one off your list.
Now, at the end of my aforementioned posts on our Florida trip in March of 2016, I had this final closing entry: Day 13. We packed. We loaded. We left. Thus endeth the trip, and this chronicle.
That wasn't entirely accurate. While the other members of the group did head for home, I headed back over to my mother's home in Zephyrhills to assist with some unexpected family business. That business kept me in Florida for an additional week. That time was pretty busy, but still afforded me the opportunity to hang out with my mom for a few more days and meet her new buddy - Lola. Here she is with her housemate Laci, introduced in the previous post.
Earlier in March, my mother's Boston Terrier of 10 years passed away. Not to be maudlin about it, Baxter was an important part of Mom's life. And that role had to be recast. Lola - a young chihuahua - landed the job. She's perky, affectionate, well-behaved, and just the right size to cuddle in Mom's lap. And she and Laci have become fast friends, playing together, looking out for each other, and bringing a great deal of comfort for Mom.
I would like to mention one other item from last March. As some of you know, my golf game could stand a little improvement. Okay, you could say that it would be nice if I actually had a golf game. I do admit that I worry less about my golf game than most others worry about theirs. So I have that going for me.
I do thoroughly enjoy playing "at" golf. And have actually thought about practicing more and taking the game more seriously in the coming years. Time will tell how well I do at that. Frankly, I try to keep the list of things I take seriously to a bare minimum. But in an effort to ease the pain of those close friends who find themselves trapped out on a golf course with me, I'm going to try to do better. As proof, here are some shots of me out last April rehearsing my approach. I call these positions the "warning",
The "threat",
And the "whack".
April
Those of you familiar with this blog will remember a previous post entitled Hell Month. In that elaborate appeal for sympathy I related how for over 30 years Nancy and I have toiled through mid-April and May to complete home fix-up projects, perform periodic maintenance on the many things that require it, and in general reclaim the house and yard from the throes of winter. So that we are properly motivated, we invite just about everybody we know to a picnic the first Saturday after Memorial Day. 2016 was no different, though a bit less taxing than in most previous years. I haven't figured out if Nancy and I are getting more efficient, becoming too lazy to take on big projects, or just don't give a hoot anymore if people notice a little dust or stumble across a little chipped paint.
But there were a few tasks undertaken in 2016. One of them was procuring and assembling yet another place for Nancy and I to sit and have a cocktail. This addition included a couple of composite (read fake rattan) chairs with clever "tuck away" footstools and a matching side table. Here are a couple of shots of me performing the onerous tasks of figuring out which end is up, what type of screws I will be dropping through the cracks in the deck, and how many band aids will be required.
And the final product, before 5:00 -
But there were a few tasks undertaken in 2016. One of them was procuring and assembling yet another place for Nancy and I to sit and have a cocktail. This addition included a couple of composite (read fake rattan) chairs with clever "tuck away" footstools and a matching side table. Here are a couple of shots of me performing the onerous tasks of figuring out which end is up, what type of screws I will be dropping through the cracks in the deck, and how many band aids will be required.
And the final product, before 5:00 -
And after 5:00.
Another, more involved project was replacing our deck fence. I say more involved, but not actually for me. For this job I used my favorite tool - the Yellow Pages. The company we hired became very involved. Even a little more than they bargained for.
Our original deck had been installed in 1969 when the house underwent major renovations (the family room, new master bath, garage, and the deck). When we finally replaced the deck about five years ago, we kept the old fence that ran along the west end, shielding us from the goings on of the neighbors. But a close inspection of the fence this year, about the time the new neighbor was planning to pour his drive way, revealed that it was time for the fence to be relieved of duty. More importantly from an aesthetic point of view, the treatment of the west end of the deck itself was pitiful, as shown in the picks below.
This is what my poor neighbor would have been staring at as he sat out on his back patio wondering just what kind of riffraff is living next door. So we hired a local fence company to solve the problem. The owner had a crew get right to work (that was, right after a fair to middlin' size check was cut). The crew did a fine job. Here are a few pics of the work in process.
And a look at the finished job.
Grosse Pointe Charles
Our original deck had been installed in 1969 when the house underwent major renovations (the family room, new master bath, garage, and the deck). When we finally replaced the deck about five years ago, we kept the old fence that ran along the west end, shielding us from the goings on of the neighbors. But a close inspection of the fence this year, about the time the new neighbor was planning to pour his drive way, revealed that it was time for the fence to be relieved of duty. More importantly from an aesthetic point of view, the treatment of the west end of the deck itself was pitiful, as shown in the picks below.
This is what my poor neighbor would have been staring at as he sat out on his back patio wondering just what kind of riffraff is living next door. So we hired a local fence company to solve the problem. The owner had a crew get right to work (that was, right after a fair to middlin' size check was cut). The crew did a fine job. Here are a few pics of the work in process.
Of course, rarely does any project unfold without at least one wrinkle. This one had a full blown pleat. Take a good look at this pic. Notice anything peculiar?
It looks like the deck has a little new lumber itself. That's because it does. Here's why.
When the neighbor had his survey completed, it revealed that my deck was about 3/4 of an inch over the property line. And the portion that was over the line was the old fence due to the 4 x 4 inch posts which supported it. So I figured I would have the fence guys saw off as much deck as needed to assure that the new fence - which would rise from ground level - would be totally on my side of the line. Best laid plans.
Well, as we used to say in the quality management business, we had a breakdown in communication. First, I asked the fence guys to saw about four inches off the deck. That would have been just about right to fit a new fence using the same 4 x 4 inch posts safely within my property line. But fencing technology has apparently moved into the 21st century. As it turned out, the new fence uses the latest steel u-channel posts that are only about an inch and a half thick. No one mentioned that to me.
Now, things would have still been okay. I would just have a new deck fence set 3-4 inches inside my property line. A little neighborly buffer zone I would have been glad to provide. However, because I had initially told the fence guys that my goal was to have the fence be just inside my property line, that's where they sunk the new steel posts. In concrete. Four inches from the end of the now shortened deck, leaving an unsightly and somewhat dangerous gap between where the deck ends and the fence begins.
They performed this feat of craftsmanship while I was up north checking on the cottage for a couple of days. I mean what could go wrong? It's just a fence. Needless to say, when I returned to see the fence-as-industrial-art, I was not happy. I couldn't imagine the fence crew not knowing that the number one requirement for a deck fence is that it actually be part of the deck. When I invited the company's owner over to gaze upon this development, he was speechless. I felt a little sorry for him as he tried to come up with an explanation for this travesty. Something like "I thought you wanted to build an insurance hazard into your deck." Or "We meant to do that - it's the latest in deck fashion. Everyone's doing it." But my compassion lasted only a few seconds.
After a round of verbal jousting about blame, some references to each other's questionable lineage, and his realization that I hadn't yet paid the balance of the bill, the owner ended the discussion with the old standard, "I'll get back to you". He went back to his truck and out of the drive. A little while later I noticed the on-site crew chief, who was building fence panels out in the backyard, clutching his cell phone with a certain ferocity while speaking through tightly clenched teeth. After a few minutes, the call ended. I saw the crew chief hang his head in what appeared to be quiet desperation, and return to his fence panel work.
Shortly after that, the fence company owner called me back and said his crew chief was a licensed carpenter by trade and would figure out how to fix the gap. I expressed my gratitude, and agreed to share any additional expense as it was evident that we both bore some responsibility for the communication breakdown that led to the problem.
True to his word, the crew chief fixed the problem through some creative engineering and a few new pieces of decking. His handy work is the unfinished wood that looks like a border around the west end of the deck. It seems structurally sound, and will blend in with the rest of the deck at its next staining. So it all ended well, and we very much like the look of the new deck fence (as does my neighbor).
I'll end this segment of my 2016 chronicle here, and resume with the equally exciting events of last May and June soon.
I'll end this segment of my 2016 chronicle here, and resume with the equally exciting events of last May and June soon.
Grosse Pointe Charles
