It’s been an extraordinarily wet, rainy and chilly July in our part of the Great White North, but the last few days have brought us weather closer to normal, and today is shaping up as one of those summer Sundays I look forward to all winter. Of course, the drier weather has a downside when your street is being ripped up for water main replacement — dust. Every car that passes raises a big cloud, and those who drive like moronic maniacs raise clouds visible for kilometers, redepositing the dust all over our houses, cars, properties, etc. It reminds me of nothing so much as the dusty dirt roads that crisscross the military reservations I’ve come to know during my younger years. For those who, like me, remember spending their summers eating dust in the Gagetown training area every time a deuce, APC or tank rolled by, you’ll know what I mean. That’s what our quiet residential street feels like these days.
There are moments where I wish I could put a spike belt across the street and teach the ignoramuses a lesson in giving their neighbours some consideration by driving more slowly rather than racing to the next intersection. But their turn will come next year. Right now, the city is doing the first 300 meters of the street, the part on which we live, however I already see the subtle signs that the city is preparing to do another section next year — the same signs I saw last year on our segment.
I wish the work would be over soon, but we’re looking at another 4-6 weeks, if not longer, before the street is repaved and things back to normal. And tomorrow morning, like every weekday, we’ll be woken at precisely 07:00hrs by the beeping of heavy machinery backing up. I can’t fault the guys who are working this project. They routinely put in 10-12 hours a day and it’s not uncommon to hear heavy machinery still hard at it after supper.
What won’t take another 4-6 weeks is the work to publish Black Sword, the latest Zack Decker adventure. It’s in the midst of the second round of editing right now, and should come out of that within a day or two, leaving only proofing and final cover design. I’d say, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we’re looking at publication before mid-August for sure.
