Retrospect: November 2005
What a disheartening non-event and what a grim sight; three grown men standing there, staring down into a hole in the ground like they had just interred the nicest boa constrictor they had ever known. After that respectful moment or ten of silence, the theories and debates began, this and that tried - mostly involving larger and larger hammers. Although the pump supply house said that our 3000-watt Honda should drive the pump without a problem, I could see the little red and black unit attracting furtive glances. In a couple more days, Willy showed up with his son's massive generator, the kind you can light a small casino with. Still no cigar.
Next theory; ice! Ya gotta thaw out them lines, you know. The assistant aimed a kerosene heater at the pipe works, melting part of the Styrofoam he had commandeered in making the butt ugliest doghouse cube for this whole contraption. He went to great lengths to wrap all the components with a pricey woven stainless sheathed heat tape. Considering that we only ran the generator from sunset to bedtime, I wasn't convinced that it would be all that effective. They piled old insulation, blankets and rugs around the pipes and tank like the stuff was running a fever and left. Okay, so no water today. Apparently tomorrow wouldn't look good either.
Mark called the pump supply house and they very generously offered to lend us their fancy line tester. He picked it up on the next week's trip into town. A couple of weeks later, Willy showed up and it became apparent that he didn't know how to use this schmancy meter either. So ... the pump supply house very generously offered to send another new pump out for a try. Well, you know how it goes, what with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, trapping season, pneumonia, Groundhog Day, new moon, old moon, etc., it would be a while before we saw Willy again. There would be more than one party to suggest that we were being a little too laid back about the situation but he really was the sweetest man on earth. We could no more press the matter than mug someone's little British 'mum', just no way.
The following months without well water were fairly miserable. A kind neighbor let us fill up our two empty cat litter jugs when I was working there two or three times a week (yes, another story for another time). That came to between eight to twelve gallons a week to run a household on - roughly equivalent to one or two average toilet flushes. I remembered a comment from a water department employee that they planned for EACH household member using 100 gallons of water PER DAY. We were experiencing a crash course on severe water conservation. I found that cutting paper towels into many tiny squares and wetting each one with generic Listerine gave some solace. We also learned to stand downwind when socializing. Lighting the burn barrel just as company arrived also worked fairly well.
Next entry: 2–3 days (I really am a shameless creature of habit and ritual.)
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