Here in SoCal, more specifically Los Angeles County, there are area that are known as "county islands". These are areas that have not been annexed by a nearby city. It is still a big suburban area. When I moved in here in 1975 this was in one of those county islands. A year or so later this area was annexed by the city of Covina. At that time that was important as we went from County Fire and Sheriff Services to City services. Over the years this has changed back and forth from one to the other as far as these services go. When we bought our house we noticed the rail road tracks running through the neighborhood. The Realtor assured us that the tracks were no longer in use. This too changed when the local transit system decided to use those tracks for the Metrolink train service. This is not a problem for us as we are a block away from the tracks. I say all this to set you up for the following.......
First, fireworks are illegal in the City of Covina. They are allowed in the county area. Just across the tracks there is a guy who lives a one of those county areas and spent a small fortune on fireworks. He began setting a few off every evening about three weeks ago and ended with a fireworks display last night that rivaled any commercial show around. I can't imagine the thousands of dollars he spent just on fireworks.
Then we had the excitement of a magnitude 6.4 earthquake about 150 miles or so from us. That size will shake you pretty good if you live near the epicenter. For us the house made a small creaking noise and I felt my chair shake a little.
And last Friday our central air system decided it was just too hot of a day to actually work. I called on Monday to my favorite A/C company and they came right out. After inspecting our nearly 20 year old system they determined it was dead and we needed a new one. This is the second air conditioner we have had in a period of 44 years. The first one we got cost about $4000 and this one will run about $8000 and is being installed as I sit here. They say you can learn something new every day. As we stood at the front door we watched the truck with the crane back into our driveway. The operator began putting out stabilizing jacks by the front tires and back tires. Once he did that he raised the truck about 8 inches off the ground. At this point we asked why they did that and we were told that the crane itself plus the weight of the new A/C unit would tip the truck over.
So I learned something new today. They say we will have cooling by mid-afternoon.
Yeah!
And our son and family began a two week vacation today by leaving a car parked here at our house. They are off to Chicago for a business meeting and then renting a car and driving to Cleveland to attend the All Star Game, on to Cooperstown New York to visit the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. A stop at Niagara Falls and onto Maine where there is a company that is involved with one of his clients. Back to Boston and a flight home. I envy him.
Larryj
