Strange Night

By the time I sing Sebastian to sleep, Teri's usually asleep, too. So I spend the evenings on my own.

Last night was strange. It had been hellishly hot for the past two days, with temperatures near 100 degrees and high humidity. The New England power grid was reportedly strained to the breaking point. A severe heat watch had ended shortly before, and so had a severe thunderstorm watch, although the thunder hadn't come.

And there was a HUGE crane parked across the street from our house.

Actually, it wasn't exactly a crane. It was a truck with a very long and large jointed mechanical arm, and a large open-topped steel cage at the end of the arm. In other words, it was some sort of industrial device for working about a hundred feet up in the air.

I'm not exaggerating (or not much). This thing was so big that it was practically surreal. And the sudden massive thunderstorm in the distance only enhanced the effect.

The rain hadn't arrived yet, but lightning was flashing every second or two. The night air was still thick and oppressive from the heat of the day; thunder rumbled ominously.

And then a police car, lights flashing, stopped in the middle of the street. Someone went to the truck-crane, lowered the basket, and climbed inside. And then he drove that massive thing down the street, steering it from the basket. The police car slowly followed behind.

It was late, but all down the street people were hanging out of their windows, watching that huge device drive away. Somehow, it felt like the neighborhoods of the old days, when people all knew each other and would hang out on the front steps of their houses and apartment buildings on hot nights.

And then the thunderstorm hit, so I went to bed.

Strange Night

By the time I sing Sebastian to sleep, Teri's usually asleep, too. So I spend the evenings on my own.

Last night was strange. It had been hellishly hot for the past two days, with temperatures near 100 degrees and high humidity. The New England power grid was reportedly strained to the breaking point. A severe heat watch had ended shortly before, and so had a severe thunderstorm watch, although the thunder hadn't come.

And there was a HUGE crane parked across the street from our house.

Actually, it wasn't exactly a crane. It was a truck with a very long and large jointed mechanical arm, and a large open-topped steel cage at the end of the arm. In other words, it was some sort of industrial device for working about a hundred feet up in the air.

I'm not exaggerating (or not much). This thing was so big that it was practically surreal. And the sudden massive thunderstorm in the distance only enhanced the effect.

The rain hadn't arrived yet, but lightning was flashing every second or two. The night air was still thick and oppressive from the heat of the day; thunder rumbled ominously.

And then a police car, lights flashing, stopped in the middle of the street. Someone went to the truck-crane, lowered the basket, and climbed inside. And then he drove that massive thing down the street, steering it from the basket. The police car slowly followed behind.

It was late, but all down the street people were hanging out of their windows, watching that huge device drive away. Somehow, it felt like the neighborhoods of the old days, when people all knew each other and would hang out on the front steps of their houses and apartment buildings on hot nights.

And then the thunderstorm hit, so I went to bed.