f r e s h s t a r t

Thursday, August 23, 2007

 

Neighborhood flood watch

It's been raining for the past 4 or 5 hours, and when I got home about an hour ago my little one-way side street was flooded. The water was about 5 inches deep near the curbs, and about 2 inches deep in the middle of the street. As I waded across at the last intersection before my block, this teenage kid who I see riding his bike around the neighborhood and who I has yelled to me before shouted "Hey, want to help us?" I looked over at him, and he and this friendly-looking middle aged woman were bent over a grate, trying to clear away leaves and sticks so that the water could drain away. The woman said they didn't know where the other grates were because there was so much water, but seemed happy that they were making some progress. My arms were full, so I said I'd come back after I'd walked my dog. After I changed out of my work clothes I grabbed Henry's leash and we went outside. I knew there was a grate directly across from my flat in the middle of the street. Leaving the dog on the sidewalk, I waded into the street and pulled out a few handfuls of leaves. I ran back and forth a few times as cars passed by, and then the kid appeared next to me. "Hey, thanks, I've got it." he said. He seemed to really be enjoying himself, so I let him finish the project and went to walk Henry in the rain.

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