In my mind, it was only twenty minutes until the musicians and thirty guests were scheduled to arrive for yesterday’s House Concert. But it may have been more like ten miutes… or forty. No matter. Plumbers don’t work on Sunday and, suddenly, there was a massive leak under the house.
I heard a strange noise behind a bookcase in the East Room. Whooooosh. Faint but steady. Almost like fire. Or water. No outward evidence of anything amiss. I called and asked if Tucker could come listen. We were both mystified but Tucker finally decided it was water and asked f or a flashlight and the location of the closest access to the crawl space under the house.
It was only a minute or two before he confirmed: Big puddle under the East Room; insulation hanging down; leaking pipe. Quick as a wink, I pulled the plug to our pump: no pump: no water pressure: no water… period. No cool sips for thirsty singers, no hand-washing before or after our pot-luck meal, and most worrisome… no flushing.
I left multiple messages for the plumber. (Fingers crossed for a response today.) Thank goodness for the stash of bottled water in the pantry; I placed several bottles in each of the crucial places. Carol brought over packets of alcohol wipes and… ready, set, go!
When everyone was seated, my “welcome-to-our-house-concert” included the news. The response was as you would expect from folks used to power outages and iffy rural water companies — smiles and sympathy. And more than a few nodded sagely and murmured “Mrs. Crouch.” I surely hope they weren’t right about that. There are way too many possibilities for ghostly mischief in this old 154-year-old house.
But whatever worries any of us had disappeared with the Skamokawa Swamp Opera’s very first song — “Sheriff’s Report in the Wahkiakum Eagle.” Immediately, our adventures in country living — broken pipes and all — were put in familiar perspective. And for those of us who turn first to the “Dispatch Reports” in our own Chinook Observer.” we felt a kinship with the band right from the get-go! You were fabulous as always, Andrew, Kyleen, Wren, and Erik! Thank you!