I'm not the kind of guy to grouch about
the weather. Well, at least not too much. Why bellyache about
something you can't change? At least in Greenville, South Carolina, I
don't have to train my attention to 10 feet of snow each winter. I'm
feeling better already.
But, I'm sick of rain. It's raining
here now and feels like it has been raining nearly without pause for
months. Forget about getting anything productive, such as mulching
leaves, cleaning gutters or opening the chimney, done. Granted, this
situation is exacerbated by my travel schedule. I'm sure there have
been some pleasant days I've missed by being on the road, but that
knowledge doesn't solve the issue.
My house has vinyl siding (I know:
classy!) and the trim needs a coat of paint. I was waiting until cooler fall temps
to tackle that project. Guess what? We really didn't have much of a
fall, and what we did have, was one rainy day after another. In terms
of temperature, I guess we may still be in fall, but the chances of
getting anything more done than the remaining leaves raked and
mulched are slim, indeed.
To compound the sky-water issue is that
the damn rain is following me around. I was poured on for a week in
Dallas last February, a week in Austin in October and it was raining
as I left Los Angeles this past week. Los Angeles!!! WTF?
If you are living in an area that is
below its average rainfall for the year, simply invite me for a
week's stay. I can almost guarantee an inch or two or the wet stuff
will accompany me. I'm like the Pied Piper of precipitation (a bit of
alliteration for my English-major readers).
Having lived in places where water is
in short supply, I almost feel guilty for bitching about the rain. We
survived on well water when I was a little kid. Water was such an
issue that during the summer my cousins and I would have to take
baths in steel tubs located at a separate well 200 yards behind the
house. I've lived in southern New Mexico and West Texas. I get the
scarcity of water. That, however, doesn't mean I want to be rained on
for days at a stretch.
Enough already. Stop it!
As a post script to this blog post I'll
share what is ultimately a rain story some folks from Nashville told
me as we enjoyed a libation at my Friday night watering hole, Soby's.
I've heard that the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has reliability issues. I
guess this isn't just rumors.
This couple was in town because their
oldest daughter plays on a travel soccer team and they came to watch
a tournament. Apparently she had a game on Saturday and was dining
with her team. They told me one of their current family cars was a
Mercedes Sprinter. It is, in fact, the second Sprinter passenger van
they have owned. They drive a Sprinter because they have five
children and it's the only vehicle large enough to seat seven and
still have plenty of cargo room for luggage or whatever.
On their original Sprinter they
experienced chronic engine problems that they tried to get resolved
at around 19,000 miles. Finally at close to 50,000 mi, Mercedes
offered them a deep discount on a new Sprinter to resolve the engine
issue. So far so good on the engine in the newer Sprinter. However,
in both Sprinters leaks formed around the air conditioning unit
located on the van roof. Whoever sits in the second-row seat usually
holds an umbrella over his or her head when it rains. The first
Sprinter actually had mold growing in it by the time it was traded.
They are currently attempting to resolve the leaking in their current
Sprinter.
I find the story fascinating and worthy
of sharing. Oh, and a 2019 Ford Transit is in their future.
No comments:
Post a Comment