Splash, Crash and Gas!

The Universe will provide.

Oh you say that, and you hope so, and you hope for the best....

and guess what?

IT DOES.

I am writing to give thanks to the Universe, Gods, Guardian Angels, and all the Good Spirits that have kept me, my home and loved ones safe this week.

Some people would say we've had a "Week from Hell" but honestly, I think we have been blessed.

Here's WHY:

1) A week ago TODAY:
Lots of snow and cold here in CNY took its toll on our water pipes in the basement and one of our water pipes broke inside our basement.
Bad news, YES.
HOWERE...
The Good news:
a) We were here at the time (i.e. it didn't happen a couple of weeks earlier when we were away in Florida!)
b) We discovered it immediately and Harry turned off the main feeder pipe asap (yeah, he was cold and frozen and the basement was sopping wet..) BUT it didn't damage the furnace, or the new water heater...
and it broke FORWARD of the meter so we didn't have to pay for all that lost and wasted water!
c) Got a great plumber who said it was an "easy fix" and it only cost us $270.
All in all, it could've been MUCH worse but it wasn't!

2) 3 days after that...On this last Sunday:
Harry was coming home from work and came up to an intersection in his van and approached a red light with two cars stopped in each lane in front of him. (a divided highway/average speed 55mph).
He stepped on his normally trusty brakes.
NOTHING.
Pedal to the floor, no pumping up, no resistance, no NOTHING.
Harry still moving FORWARD and approaching 2 cars parked at red light at John Glenn Blvd and Route 370 (a dangerous intersection.)
What did he do?
(besides shite himself????)
We think something akin to a MIRACLE happened next.
It was like a moment in a Harry Potter movie on the Knight Bus where the bus squeezed itself skinny and he slid between the parked cars at the red light.
He then miraculously flew through the intersection, amazingly the cars in the intersection stopped to avoid hitting him careening through and he avoided hitting FOUR vehicles (2 at red light and 2 in the intersection from different directions.)
He then came to a stop, (Finally) only because the road inclined and momentum ceased. He then started going backwards (again...WITHOUT brakes....) and came to rest upon a happy chunk of ice on the side of the road.
Bad news, YES.
HOWERE,
The Good News, is that He and many others...could have been killed or seriously injured....but NO ONE was hurt.  Even the van received no dents that we know of (it sat on the side of the road there awaiting a tow truck for almost 48 hours because of the blizzard).  It's being worked on now. There was no previous need for brakes and we are unsure WHY his brakes failed. BUT we are VERY grateful for his life and his safety.

3) TODAY:
As Harry & I sat chatting before we went to work, a big bunch of ice and snow slid off the trees next door, onto our roof and fell off the side of the house. This is a frequent occurrance during winter, so no big deal, right? Just a big noise and a lot of snow on the ground, as usual. (we thought).
How'ere, about a 1/2 hour later as I was dressing from a shower before work, in my bedroom, I heard the weirdest sound. It was like a "gushing wind" and was coming from the ground just below my window where the ice and snow had previously fallen. I opened the snowy window and heard the sound of a runaway train. "OMG! Harry! Go check the gas meter!! I think the snow busted it and it's spewing GAS!!"
Sure enough, he came in and said: "We have to call 911!"
I jumped into jeans, boots and coat when the responder said "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE NOW!"
As I hooked my precious doggy, Monty onto his buckles, I had the sense to grab my cell phone and my gas bill and we took off for the outside.
The crisp beautiful snowy bright day was filled with the pungeant sulphuric smell of gas in the air.
I called the gas company, while Harry moved our car from the possibly imminent exploding house while the fire department came screaming up to our door.
Seven heavily armed firemen came to our rescue. They rolled out the fire hose and approached our house and had the hose aimed ready to cover the fireman with the meter as he entered our home and checked with his meter every room.  Over the course of an hour, in the freezing cold, investigated our home, inside and outside and in the basement. They had a heck of a time turning off the gas due to the cold weather and the frozen fittings. The regulator had been sheared completely OFF.  Also sheared off has been our gutter on the roof, the facia and some of the roof itself.
Bad news, YES.
HOWERE: 
a) We are SO lucky that we were here (again) when this happened. We were about to leave for work and both would've been gone for many hours and would've left our dear doggy at home. He would've been at risk indeed, and mayhaps, even dead by the time we got home had we not been alerted to the problem.
b) The gas meter broke ahead of the meter....and while we are sad all that gas spilled into the air, it was BEFORE our meter so we will not be charged for it!
c) Our homeowners insurance will cover the damages that will need to be fixed.
d) EXTRA FUN BONUS: The firemen, and the gas repairman did not damage Harry's Snow Castle in the front yard, but instead found great JOY in it! There was humor and delight in the absurd in the midst of terror. :)

As it is often said in the movie "The Gods must be Crazy"

"THE GODS ARE GOOD, MIMSAAB!"

Aye. So they are.

So we celebrate this awesome week of blessings and luck and are thankful for our home, our water, our vehicle, our lives and our doggy and our heat!

Have you hugged your local firemen or gas repair man today?
I DID!!

These are our unsung HEROES!!

Much love to you and yours!

Merlyn