flying saucer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Slowly it lifted up until it was completely off the ground. The first couple times it faltered and then set back down. Then with a big heave it lifted and started hovering across the driveway. It was heading straight for the house then veered right and headed out off the edge of the hill following it’s trajectory put it at least sixty to seventy feet above ground level at it’s highest point. It then quickly settled down resting on edge against a large oak tree at the bottom of the hill.
I wasn’t there when it happened. I came home early from work and was told the whole story. The evidence is irrefutable. There is too much shrub between the top of the hill and where it finally landed for it to have skidded or rolled down. It had to clear the top. It landed intact and except for a few missing springs undamaged.
Of course I came home today because the wind also broke the guide wire for the power-line to the pump shed. This was an adventure in itself. The cable was snapped in a place right at the edge of the roof. It appears as if the wind whipping it around may have let it hit the edge and eventually it snapped. I was able to get on the roof and pull the two ends together. There was enough slack that I could loop each end and put a clamp on them. This raised the cable up some from the edge of the roof. As I was tightening the clamps standing on the edge of the roof I heard the trees behind me rustle loudly. Really loudly. I braced my self and held tight to the guide cable. I calculate the gust was about fifty miles per hour. It hit pretty hard and I was glad the cable was already secured. I then started to tie the power cable back onto the guide cable, the next thing that happens was rain and lightning. Lightning usually doesn’t spook me much but standing on the roof, at the top of a hill, in the rain. I felt a little vulnerable. From the sound of the thunder almost on top of the flash told me it was close. In addition, the storm was heading towards me. I got off the roof just in time as a torrential down pour with hail started.
Fortunately it let up after a bit and I was able to go back and finish pulling the slack from the cable. I tied off the power cable and then tackled the trampoline at the bottom of the hill.
The rain had let up so I decided to upright the trampoline then disassemble it. I took the tarp and left the frame in sections where it landed. Without the tarp the sail is gone so it won’t fly anymore.
The trampoline was so interesting to me that I forgot that on the way home from work I saw a truck hydroplane on the other side of the guardrail heading towards me. It hit the guardrail as if in slow motion. As soon as it connected it was like high speed as it spun around facing traffic, mud and water flying everywhere. it continued spinning out into traffic. I didn’t see what happened next as I was concentrating on the road. It looked like everyone was OK, but I imagine the air bag went off when it hit the rail. So it would be hard to control the vehicle if the driver was skilled enough at that point. But hydroplaning in a pickup is easy so I doubt they were skilled to get in that situation in the first place.
More storm tomorrow. I think I’ll ride the bus.
note: this was from an older blog that was obsoleted by the provider. I saved one.
first published in January 2010 and now found!
photo: trampoline_2.jpg by a.thurston
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