On 10 Dec 2003 09:05:00 -0800, (Bob) wrote:

My brother in Fortuna, CA, sent me this message last night, I thought
others might enjoy it.
Bob Meade


It is windy and raining...........the cement deer blow over last
night...this morning I drove a steel fence post down
to act as a support so it would never blow over again...........I
noticed water coming up,,,,,,,,,yes
I hit the main water line to the house............now try and remove
that steel post ..it does not want to come up............finally I get
it removed...............than dig a great hole to get to the
pipe...........which
I had cut in half, shattering the ends............go to Wyckoff"s
plumbing store.........get a repair kit..........lay on my belly
and install the repair...........of course it leaks.........reinstall
and it holds.........turn on the water
so Alma can shower as she has a dentist appointment...........the
water system plugs up
from dirt and the volcanic rock from the ground cover that had made
its way into the one and one fourth inch
plastic pipe..........all this and it is still blowing and
raining...........I am cold and wet and ****ed off, but at least it
is not snowing........but feels cold enough too...........and it is
now four o'clock.........I give up call
the plumber from Denny Wendt's and he
will be here in the morning..........as you might know**, all pipes
under the house are copper and each joint is soldered.............What
a day..........and it started out with a simple job of putting in a
steel support post ..........to hold up the deer statue.........I
know the plumbing bill will be rough...........but I will pay
it............gladly
JMM

Maybe I should have changed the subject to "Arson by remote control".

A plumber told one of those "I didn't do it but I know the guy that
did" stories.

Old farm house has been torn down to make way for new. A trencher is
digging a ditch for a new water pipe to the well. Along the drive he
hits a 4" steel pipe and chews it up some but not enough cut through.
Whoever installed the septic tank had run metal under the drive to the
leach field on the other side.

As a cutting torch is applied to the pipe, sewer gas ignites, blowing
the lid off the septic tank 50' away. The lid goes up between two
trees, flipping like a coin. It knocks the transformer off the power
pole, drops the primaries across the tin roof of the hay barn. The
sparks and heat ignite the hay and the barn burns.