“The facilities are usable.”

The sweet words of Master Plumber Len were like music in the ears of Mother Goose this morning. There can be stress when a home has no outgoing drainage. There can be MUCH stress when the plumbing utterly and miserably fails. There can be harsh words spoken when flushing of the toilets does not achieve the desired effect of evacuating the waste product from the home of a goose. There can be tears. There can be a sense of hopelessness that the world is indeed caving in just like the one-hundred year old sewer pipe which is buried under the concrete basement floor.

Mother Goose and four of her children did themselves evacuate the premises, preferring the comforts of a local Best Western rather than go wandering through the backyard in search of a suitable spot under a tree to relieve themselves during the night and wee hours of the morning.

The majority of the plumbing in our home is quite old. The original deed on our house is dated 1895. That is not a typographical error — 1895 is truly the legal birthday of this house. I suspect the house was built before then, but they just made it official in 1895. Let’s shine the light of historical perspective on this date, just for fun…

Grover Cleveland was the president of the United States. Remember Grover?

Loving the tie, Mr. President.

America’s first official automobile race was held in Chicago. “The race started in the early morning in snowy conditions. A little over 10 hours later, Frank Duryea was the first to cross the finish line having survived a journey punctured by numerous breakdowns and repairs. He had averaged 7.3 miles per hour and took home a prize of $2,000 ($49,500 in today’s money).” (courtesy of EyeWitnesstoHistory.com)

Charles Duryea, 1895 speed monster

The first movie projector was demonstrated in the United States. It was named the “Panopticon” by its inventors, Woodville Latham and his sons Otway and Gray.

The American Bowling Congress was organized in Beethoven Hall, N.Y., to restore respectability to the sport and popularize it.

And, American men got a new pin-up queen, the Gibson Girl, drawn by Charles Dana Gibson for major magazines.

Those drainage pipes under the basement of Mother Goose have seen a lot in their day — so much that they did indeed collapse under the strain of their endeavors. The hard-working plumbers of Nuzzo Sewer and Plumbing are to be commended for their own endeavors yesterday and today. Thank you so much, dear plumbing guys.

Unearthing the broken pipe…

Not wanting to get too close to this…

Old clay pipe now replaced by nice modern plastic pipe and fresh concrete poured to cover the scene of the problem… “The facilities are usable.”