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melodies from Poughkeepsie
Tuesday, August 30 2016
I was back on the roof this morning, having a plan of action. I soon tacked up the last of the two-by-fours constituting the east and west braces, meaning there was no longer any wood to wrestle into place (perhaps the most dangerous job when building or altering a deck atop a roof). Next I went around with a 120 volt power drill putting in the carriage bolt holes and shallow-but-wide holes necessary for the part of a lag bolt nearest the head (the neck?). Then I went around with a battery-powered drill armed with a long-but-somewhat-narrower spade bit to dig out the deep parts of the lag bolt holes, the part that has to be narrow enough for the threads to grip into the wood. Unfortunately, I couldn't make deep enough holes for all my lag bolts, and my 5 inch carriage bolts weren't quite long enough to get through three lapped two-by-fours (maybe they would've been, but two of those pieces were new pressure-treated lumber, and that usually arrives heavy, wet, and thus thicker than the dimensions of dry lumber). Due to these issues, I was forced to quit before the job was finished. Gretchen would be going out this afternoon, so I made a list of additional fasteners for her to fetch me. And then I began my work in my remote workplace, which might not have looked productive had one been following me around with a camera, but certainly looked productive in terms of what I did within the task management system.
Gretchen drove down to Poughkeepsie this evening to pick up her childhood friend Andrea (she's been friends with Gretchen longer than anyone except Dina) and brought her back here. On the way from Poughkeepsie, Google Maps sent Gretchen down narrow winding roads past sketchy houses and (one images) rusted-out vehicles. Gretchen hummed the hillbilly bluegrass melody we always hum in white trash parts of America. It's bright, cheerful, and generic, but it calls to mind darker bluegrass melodies. Andrea said something to Gretchen about Deliverance, and she said, "Oh no, that's a different tune." But then she couldn't think of it, so she called me and I remembered how it went. "Daddle-ow-dow-dow-dow-dow-dow-dow-dow" (the tune is called "Dualing Banjos"). I then told the story of the time I was yard saling with our erstwhile friends Penny & David and we came upon a house that brought that melody to mind. I hummed it, putting it into Penny' head, and then she hummed it a bit too loudly while approaching the sale.
After they arrived, I hung out with Gretchen and Andrea briefly in the living room. Ramona was very excited to have a guest staying over and of course gave Andrea the full Ramona welcome, which Andrea (being an animal lover) encouraged. Andrea will be staying here through the weekend.
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