Boiler Duty

Day two. Hoping the goddamned part will be in tomorrow. Annual full-dinner Board meeting, upstairs, in the gallery. Stayed late, because the outgoing president, the plumbing magnate, wanted to see the boilers, then helped me get the water drawn down. A beer and pretzel with TR afterward, then I went back to the museum to check things one last time. I think Chris wanted me to stay until the meeting was over, but I just couldn't do, worn out. Got home before dark, which was my plan, though the timing was a little off. A few minutes earlier and I wouldn't have witnessed a dog getting killed. On Rt.125, I was stopped completely because there was a border collie in the road. She was clearly confused, used to a simple backyard; and a good old boy coming the other way didn't even slow down, which, I think they say you're not supposed to do at highway speed, as veering causes even more accidents than actually hitting an animal. He was probably going highway speed, a Datsun pick-up beat to shit, clipped the collie with the left end of his bumper. He kept going, I pulled over, got out and dragged the poor damned dead thing off to the side of the road. I didn't want to look at the mess for a week, and even a dog deserves a little dignity. Soon as I got home I got a drink, it's, what, almost eight in the evening, dark is settling, when gray becomes black and everything disappears. Possible title for the Janitor book: "Basement Fears". There's something janitor-like about it. As a group we're not superstitious, or any thing like that, we clean toilets and run sump pumps, it's difficult to be speculative when something else is actually the issue.