Random thoughts on the Green Line crashes

Last Wednesday, there was a crash on the el in Chicago, and also a crash on Boston's trolley system. Curiously, both crashes were on their respective cities' Green Line route.

1. I didn't catch any mix-ups where reporters made claims about one city's crash when they meant the other (such as referring to a trolley in Chicago). This is not to say it didn't happen, but I didn't catch it.

2. If you're looking for a real-life example of a true coincidence, this seems to be it: there is no common cause between the two accidents. (Also note: nothing happened on Washington, D.C.'s Green Line.) It is certainly odd that both accidents were on the "Green Line." (I should note that both cities use letter codes to indicate the final destination of the train; I suspect those codes were different, but I'm not 100% sure of that, either way; so, in some sense, it might not have been the same line.)

3. I'd worry if two crashes in one day will discourage mass transit use; in this day of rising gas prices, that would only make things worse.

The flying prince

A couple of weeks ago, Prince William flew a military helicopter to his girlfriend's house. There's nothing more romantic than a whirlybird on the front lawn.

What I find interesting about the story is that while critics called the flight "ridiculous and inappropriate," the government defended it, claiming "he achieved essential training objectives," that it was "fully authorized," and that the RAF claimed, "Battlefield helicopter crews routinely practice landing in fields and confined spaces away from their airfields as a vital part of their training for operations." Granted, helicopters in battle don't have great choices for landing sites, so picking oddball sites makes some sense. However, the obvious question that, it seems at least, no one has asked: when have RAF pilots previously flown to their girlfriends' homes?

Flood at home and no room at the inn

You might not have noticed because I am irregular with my blogging, but the past couple of weeks, I have been online much less than usual.

On April 20, we went out to dinner. Donald used the bathroom before we left the house. By the time we were back, the water was to the front door. The handle of the toilet had stuck before, but this time (unlike before), it didn't drain through the bowl and out, but flooded the house. By the time we got back from dinner, it was to the front door.

I called Servpro, realizing the cleanup was beyond my abilities. Their estimate was over $10,000. It was covered by insurance, so the cost was not an issue. However, we had to clear out of the house.

My dad and I booked into the Comfort Inn Orange Park along with Snowy, Chessie, and Peabrain. (I planned to board Dulcinea and Ninotchka at the vet from the start--their history of hiding under beds made them poor candidates for a hotel stay, and five cats in the room was too much.) On the following Tuesday (the 22nd), they came into the room to clean the carpet. Later that night, one of the cats urinated on my bed. The desk clerk gave me new sheets, and told me to contact the maid to spray disinfectant the following morning, so I figured no great problem. The following morning, when I spoke with the maid, she responded, "Oh, you're checking out today." I called the front desk to clear up what I thought was a misunderstanding, and learned that way we were being evicted. The manager complained about the cat urinating on the bed, but also claimed the smell in the room was intolerable--a claim I find curious based on the fact that no one complained to my father or me when the carpet was cleaned (and if any hotel staff were in the room after that time, it was without our knowledge), and the fact that the only smell I could detect in the room was whatever solution was used to clean the carpet; the manager's further complaint about lost revenue (based on the need to deodorize the room) was also very dubious, since, even if the cats needed to be boarded, we'd have been willing to stay in the room (which I think further comments on the overall decent state of the room). In short, the reasons given by the manager don't mesh with the facts as I know them, and I'm still furious about being evicted for, as I see it, little reason and on very short notice; I'm on a crusade to discourage people from staying at the Orange Park Comfort Inn.

So, as of now, we're staying at the Rodeway Inn across the street. The cats are all boarded at a vet in Mandarin (their usual vet has a two-week limit on boarding; I went there first, but moved the cats the other day). A week ago Monday, Servpro declared the house dry. Sometime next week, the general contractor will do his work (mostly baseboard and trim work--repainting and recaulking, maybe some minor repairs beyond that), with the flooring people coming in when he's done.

The whole experience has been frustrating. Some people (such as State Farm and the contractors) have been very helpful in getting things back to order. Others (especially the Orange Park Comfort Inn's manager)--well, I'd be happier if they never stepped into my life.