Enter the flagman
It was quite a bit before 0800 when we heard the roar of heavy earthmoving equipment. Admittedly, I had been hoping for a bit more peace and quiet this morning but it wasn’t raining. EBMUD (East Bay Municipal Utility District – great acronym or what?) was back on the job. George kindly and quickly headed out to move the car out of the driveway lest we be blocked in (again).
A short while later I hiked down the hill to the car which was barely legal on the downhill side of Euclid. As I passed him, I asked the man with the stop sign when they were going to be done.
Sorry, he said, it is completely dependent on the rain. We are seriously behind schedule both here and some other locations because of the weather.
I then asked if he did other jobs as well.
No – I just passed my Flagman’s Exam.
Huh? Flagman’s Exam – really there is such a thing. Stop, go, radio to the other end?
Yes, he said. That part takes almost nothing, but it is a full week of training most of it on safety for the whole site.
Oh – like those “car wreck movies” or “scared straight” things they used to show in school?
Exactly.
and here I was thinking they just handed someone the sign …… Meanwhile, there is still a small backhoe parked next to our garage. The fire hydrant replacement (next to our stairs) isn’t complete and there are a few rough patches of road….