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The Hole
posted by Brian on November 9, 2002 at 06:45 PM

I was just about to post some recent news when I read a few of David’s recent posts. So before filling you in on the latest (an ironic term, as you’ll discover later), I have to vent a little over the recent election here in Massachusetts.

We’re the state that put Mitt Romney in office (for governor, that is). That’s right, the guy who put on the Salt Lake Olympics. Very disheartening. Aside from being the Republican from Central Casting, with the square jaw, perfectly parted hair, unflappable “common man” grin, and the “successful businessman” resume you have to convince people you have to get elected these days (even if it’s primarily built on the backs of volunteer workers at the Olympics), the most disturbing thing about him is his desire to institute the death penalty in Massachusetts. Now, I know most people reading this will think it quaint that we still get to debate the death penalty here because it’s not a foregone conclusion, but I’m pretty upset by this. There has been some small amount of comfort over the last several years in being a resident of a state that hasn’t decided it has to kill people to feel good about itself (Wisconsin also does not have a death penalty). Now, I may not be able to live in that denial for much longer.

What made Election Day here so much more depressing is that the Democratic candidate, while opposing the death penalty, had absolutely nothing interesting or inspiring to say. She seemed to be a party operative who just attacked the opponent instead of offering anything creative or visionary. Unfortunately, the one Democratic candidate who actually offered interesting solutions from a real liberal perspective, Robert Reich, lost in the primary. Even more unfortunately, he was seen by the Democratic power structure as more of a threat than an asset and viable opposition to Romney. It’s enough to make me think the Massachusetts Democratic Party is essentially rotting from the inside out.

But moving on…

Amy and I woke up on Wednesday to a cold, rainy, windy day. The election news cast even more of a pall over our morning. But then the day got interesting. Our plumber, who was at the house to finish installing a new heating system, was backing his truck into our driveway when he cut the corner just a bit and backed over a bit of our front yard (not a big deal, which you understand if you’ve seen our front yard). Suddenly, his left rear wheel fell into the ground. All you could see was the top half of the wheel, sunken down into the yard. He called a tow truck and explained that there must have been some loose top soil there, and the truck was just so heavy that it sunk down into it. I thought that was a bit odd, but couldn’t think of any better explanation. Until the tow truck pulled him out. Then we discovered The Hole. It turns out that the wheel punched a hole in the ground because there was nothing underneath it but a sort of cave, measuring around four cubic feet. Pretty amazing, especially when we figured out that the reason this cave was there was that the main sewage pipe from our house to the street had not only broken but completely disintegrated, and the flow of water, waste, etc. had essentially eaten away at the soil under the ground. So whenever anything came down the pipe, it simply spilled into the hole and seeped lower into the ground. Not a situation you want. But given that the house is almost 100 years old, I suppose this kind of thing can be expected. (The chimney liner, for instance, was the original ceramic tile until we had a new aluminum one installed last year.)

Anyway, I began calling around and finally located a drain guy to come out to take a look. He arrived the next day and said he’s seen old pipes disintegrate before, but he’s never really seen a sink hole develop as a result. He gave me an estimate to excavate and replace the entire pipe from the house to the street, and we made an appointment for the next morning.

So at 6:30 am, a backhoe arrived. (That’s the big tractor with a big wide shovel on one end and a smaller, digging shovel on the other.) Soon enough, the excavator began digging up our side yard to unearth the pipe. As he made his way along the line toward the original hole, he came across a huge piece of concrete wrapped around the pipe. The machine tugged at the piece to bring it out of the ground, but it was quite large, so it became a struggle. Finally, it became clear that it was going to bring more of the front yard with it. When the backhoe won the battle, we discovered The Mother of The Hole. Unbelievably, as the concrete came out, the earth around it collapsed into a huge opening that exposed a curved rock wall with sludge at the bottom. When an excavator with 20 years of experience doing this kind of thing has a shocked expression on his face, you know you have something, well, special. (And it smelled special too.) It became clear that this was the original cesspool for the house, and when modern plumbing was installed, no one bothered to fill in the opening. Fortunately for us, the cesspool continued to work as it was intended, with all the liquid gradually seeping through the rock and mortar into the ground and the remaining material slowly turning to sludge, muck, mud, etc. (All of this is well below the foundation, so the house was never undermined.) So while our pipe had been broken for possibly several years, there was never a backup or problem with the plumbing. In fact, the only problem was that it ate away at the ground under the yard to create that initial hole that the truck fell through.

Luckily, the solution wasn’t too complicated and really didn’t add too much to the cost of this project. A dump truck full of crushed rock was ordered, and it filled The Hole. Then the guys replaced the pipe, replaced all the soil, and called it a day. So now we have a legit plumbing system and a head start on the landscaping project we were thinking of for next year.

Old houses. What a trip.

As for everything else (read: the impending arrival of the twins), Amy is huge, slow, and healthy. Pickle and Tomato are kicking around, just waiting for the right moment to press the eject button. In about a week, we’ll enter the optimal window, meaning that, if they’re born, they won’t really be considered premature. Twins often arrive somewhat early, and anytime between the 36th and 40th week is normal. This is the beginning of the 35th week….

More as it develops.

BKM

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Comments

Does this mean you got the oil tank out of the basement and replaced it with gas? Aren't you thrilled you didn't discover that this summer in the heat with all the other trucks and guys running around. The smell could have been worse, etc. What other surprises are in store? Good things the babies weren't born yet. The noise must have been interesting. How did Rafiki take to the activity and noise? Did she guard Amy?

Posted by Ruth | November 9, 2002 08:56 PM

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