Whoopsie

Whenever we have a little mistake or accident, we catch ourselves saying "whoopsie."  We learned this from grandson Liam who used to say "whoopsie" whenever he had a little accident.

Unfortunately for us, he is a child and his "whoopsie's" are small.  We are adults and ours are much bigger.

Yesterday an old friend was helping me catch up on spraying while I was on the tractor.  One pass I looked over and wondered what that long thing was laying in the waterway.

We have two power poles on the electric company right of way on one farm.  He had snagged his boom on a brace wire which snapped and the rotten power pole broke off.

These too poles have been scheduled for replacement for two years and every time they want to replace them there is a crop in the field or it was super muddy.  I ask if they will pay for the damaged crop and they say, oh, you won't even notice we were there.  Not true. I discourage them from replacing them but one got replaced yesterday.

I went to the house to get a drink and call the power company.  Yep, the lights were off.  That line serves many customers.  I begged them to get it off the farm when I moved here and it would only take another quarter mile of poles and wire to get it off that farm.  They said sure, we will do it for $11,000!  That was ten years ago.  I told them I don't think we will be doing that anytime soon.  Yesterday, for a moment, I wished I had done it.

The lead guy Danny shows up and I pick up a shingle from the yard that blew off the house in the straight line winds the other day.  I hold it up and say, "sure have had some strong winds here lately."  He smiled and winked his eye and didn't even ask what got torn up to tear down a light pole.  I said these poles have been scheduled for replacement and he said yes, it is right here on my paperwork.

In four hours the old pole was removed and the new one was up.  Everyone on our line had their electric back.

In my defense, the breakaway booms on the sprayer never broke off and you KNOW how easy they are to snap.

I rest my case in the fact those poles need replaced.

I wonder when they will come and try to replace the other one?  It looks more fragile than the one that snapped yesterday.

I thanked God no one got hurt.  My worry to get the spraying caught quickly disappeared.  My guardian angel is one vigilant angel.

Ed Winkle