White Lightning Axiom: Redux

I went out after lunch to send off that package to Iraq. The post office was near by so it only took about 15 minutes. It was still cold, but sunny and not windy at all. I look at the leaky rear tire as I get out of the SuperSaturn and realize that it could probably use a bit of air. I'll get on that later tonight at the Manor's carport.

On the way home, I stopped off at Home Depot to pick up a set of energy miser light bulbs for the kitchen area. We have some 11 or so lights in there that we have on for most of the evening. This is burning up a bit of electricity. That, and we have a real mish-mash of different bulb sizes. They are the regular incandescent bulbs where the larger 130w ones really heat up and are quite expensive. I found some of the fluorescent ones that cost about 10$ each, but apparently have a 6 year guarantee and only use a fraction of the electricity that my current ones do. I'll bite. One down side of these bulbs is that they do not work well with dimming switches. To tell you the truth though, I have NEVER used the dimming capability of the kitchen lights. The switches came with the house and are the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. More light is better when you are dealing with boiling water, sizzling oil and really sharp foot long knives. But hey! To each is own.

On the way back to the Manor, I get to drive down the gauntlet called Byberry Road. During rush hour, it is a disaster. This time, a SUV and a UPS truck collided head on. Oil, antifreeze and glass everywhere. The suv was immobilized and laid askew in the center of the road. It happened a few minutes before I arrived so the backup was only a half mile by that time. Not a big hangup normally, but because I went to the Home Depot Temple of Cooool hardware I was running a bit late. Ok, really late. I didn't get to the Manor till 1715. Needless to say, the Hounds were very happy to see me. I let them out and they did their defoliation job while I sat out in the cold and put some air in the rear leaky tire. Yeah, I should have bought some fix-a-flat when I was at the store, but all the pretty flashing tools distracted me.

It's been getting a bit more chilly outside recently. On the way home, I go under an ancient Reading Railroad trestle. It is peculiar in that it is completely built of blocks of granite and covered by a mound of soil and gravel that the tracks are laid on. Water perpetually drips between the seams for weeks after a rainfall. Since the temperature finally dropped significantly below freezing, the giant icicles that form on the top of the tunnel have started to form. A lot of them. You need to go down into a depression to go through the tunnel so at night, the lights of oncoming traffic diffuse through the ice. It's very ominous; a menacing passage that may not release it's Bohemian trekkers out the other side. All I could think is 'Deliver us from evil' from the Lords Prayer. Did you know that the term 'Deliver' here was a variation of a word that meant 'to lead through'. Seemed to fit here.

# posted by mdmhvonpa @ 2:35 PM