Five Years a Writer

The cat would not take no for an answer, so I got up to feed her in the very early morning hours. It was pitch black outside but, through the one living room window that didn’t have the blind all the way down, I could see some commotion on the street. It seemed noisy, too. Hmmm…what was going on? I peered out and saw a City truck, with lights flashing, and two men. They appeared to be bashing away at the curb…oh! At the curb! Right by where the street drain cover is still buried under snow and ice. I had tried in vain to chip away at it on the weekend, because we’re expecting a ‘weather event’ this week that includes both snow and rain. With nowhere for any of that expected precipitation to go, it would pool on the street and cause serious trouble for all. By chance, earlier last week, I had come across an online report that I could submit to the City masters alerting them to a frozen street drain. If I provided location details, they would send out their ‘super steam unit’ (my name f