These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Falling branches and bolts in a tire

So the TV news has word of a forest fire in the Allegan State Forest and I was off to it. Didn't know what to expect. Turned out to be about 30 or so acres burning due to a pump jack electrical short in the middle of nowhere Allegan. Interesting event. Never been to a forest fire before.
On the way back to town to type up the info, there's this sound going on with the tires. Even though I don't drive and haven't been behind the wheel since I was about 15, I know there's something off with the car, at least from a passenger's perspective.
We checked it out and found a rather large bolt embedded in one of the tires. Dunno how it got there but there it was. Luckily it seemed to be so tightly stuck that it appeared it wouldn't come out. Otherwise, we would have been SOL out there on M-40. I had fears we would have to pay for two new tires, since I had convinced myself the hole made by the bolt was too big to be repaired. But the gods were in my favor and all is well fifteen dollars later. heh heh
Weird thing this morning, though, when we stepped out to the tire place. There was a large branch from the oak tree (stands directly in front of our porch by the street) laying (or is it lying??) across the front yard and sidewalk. It must be about 12 feet long. The nearest branches on the tree are about 15 feet from the ground, maybe even more. My wife and I discussed the possibilities but couldn't figure out why it fell. There were no strong winds or storms and it appeared not to be a dead branch. It was too high for someone to hang from it, too. We heard nothing of the incident last night. You would have thought the noise might have awakened us. Nothing. I tried lifting it, and with my massive strength, I thought it'd be a cinch for me to move it to the lawn. Alas, it still sits across the sidewalk. Our landlord will take care of the problem.
It's getting late and guess what? I've still not attached my novel. I feel like a failure at times because of my lack of enthusiasm. I could blame it on going to the tire place or watching Waiting for Guffman but ultimately there's no excuse.
I must admit, I do a lot of thinking and talking about it to my wife and friends and that narrows down some ideas and plot. Oh well, lamenting, lamenting.
Hey, a shout out to Ab Nance in Ireland! Say hey to Bono.
Three more days 'til Harry Potter!