Lights out

May 31, 2013

A long-lost relative was starting a new lease on life at 22 years old. She began the journey in Helsinki, gliding aboard a ship containing 32 passengers from Liverpool to New York on 4/26/1899 landing 5/6/1899 with $10 in possessions to her name! Wow, Finns were tough! How did Hilda get from New York (prior to Ellis Island) to Sparta, MN on her own? These fragmented stories are incredible and a marvel to consider. Spins my head ‘round in disbelief at their tenacity and astonishing survival skills.

The wind picks up across the lake, rain enters sideways, and sun peaks around the corner reminding me of when I lived in Hawaii. Torrential rain turns to drizzle in conjunction with simultaneous brilliant sunshine, typically producing three rainbows glaring across the back yard. Never fails to cause me to search for them as water pours from the heavens, overlapped by the sun.

I fail to relate to days by calendar name. Instead I consider tackling projects and think about what rations we have available in the refrigerator for each meal, to break up scattered time. Communication with friends and clients is sporadic. Long groggy evenings of shuffling paperwork torture the crew. Unresolved concern, about the effort required to complete the job prior to the holiday sale weekend, stalks me. It is not so much the quantity but the value and history that silhouettes each item. There are stairs at every entrance that impede my freedom to come and go without effort. Fortunately the main floor houses most of the goods.

Meanwhile back at the rental in West St Paul, the electricity has been turned off due to our landlord, who failed to fax pertinent information to the energy company. Without any apology, he has made it my problem. The food begins to rot since I believe the refrigerator door seal is past its prime. After a lengthy conversation with Representative “X”, she agrees to have the landlord give the company agent a verbal okay for me to place the bill in my own name and be responsible for payment. At 5:05 the landlord calls to inform me agent “X” was misinformed and the company will no longer accept a verbal. I have to fax the lease which is at home in MN, while I am in WI. They also require a copy of my driver’s license. Of course, the corporation needs to check my background, which could take several days, and in the meantime my daughter is living without electricity. Even though the produce and dairy are placed in the freezer with bags of ice, we loose everything.

The washing machine, which was just replaced and supposedly billed to the upstairs unit meter, along with all of the basement lights, are not functioning. This leads me to believe all of the above are attached to our electric meter. I am overjoyed, of course, to be dealing with this while working on a family project in another state.