I was hammer drilling a deeper hole for the sump pump in my wife’s mother’s house on West Street the other day, and it occurred to me that there must be a better way to make a living. I have put off that project for years but the recent perfect storm of deep cold and torrential rain enlightened me and also threatened the hot water heater and the furnace. With frozen ground, water runs fast down the back hill and floods into the basement . The sump pump didn't pump out enough, and some times the water rose too high. It doesn’t help that the sump is located in the remnants of an old cistern. Why wouldn’t the water collect there?

I was reminded of an often mangled statement by a dear, somewhat reckless older friend, who used to say, “If it ain’t fixed, don’t break it.” He would advise me to use a sledge hammer when a screw driver was adequate. We made a hell of a team. I’ll hold the light, mother dear, while you chop the wood.

So I decided to visit the footbridge without my tools. After extracting dust chunks from my electric jack hammering in mother’s basement, the serenity of a footbridge seemed completely appropriate. I never was one for the spectacular. More inclined to that which is obvious and less filled with particles and flying debris. Work in the coal fields offered as much of that as I would ever need. Fortunately, I have been able to dispose of that accumulation too.

It was nice to walk over the water and breath cool crisp fresh air. A simple pleasure by default. One could do worse than be a swinger on bridges, choosing the road less traveled ... and that has made all the difference. Or in the words of my old friend, “Never do anything immediately that you can put off.”

I loved that guy.