The Crickets, led by Buddy Holly, had their first hit with “That’ll Be The Day” in 1957. Many more hits would follow for Buddy Holly and the Crickets until his tragic death on February 3, 1959. He had just left a gig at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, when his plane crashed in the middle of a frozen cornfield. All three passengers – Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson – and the pilot were killed instantly.
Last summer I visited the site of the crash which is only 45 minutes from where I grew up. There are no signs on the gravel roads leading to the cornfield and there is no dedicated parking. Once you get near, though, the presence of other visitors is soon evident.
The site lies at the end of a half mile walk along a dirt road with weeds and grass growing in the center. There is a small entrance at the start of the road that is festooned with horn rimmed glasses, flowers and other mementos.
As I walked past the entrance and down the half mile path to the crash site, I couldn’t help but notice something remarkable – crickets! Every person I encountered on the path I asked, “Can you believe it? Crickets!” The younger ones looked puzzled but the people my age nodded politely and kept walking back towards their car. Eventually, I stopped telling people about the crickets.
As I walked out of the cornfield and approached the entrance, a man about my age walked towards me in the opposite direction. I said to him, “I can’t believe the crickets!” He looked at me puzzled at first and then realized what I meant. He pointed at his ears and said, “I can’t hear high frequencies any more.”
As he walked by me, I stopped for a moment, pulled the hearing aids out of my ears and I could no longer hear the crickets. I put them back in and the crickets were audible again.
On that day, I was extra grateful for my hearing aids because they helped me hear the crickets singing for Buddy Holly.
It all started with the mystery wet spot in the carpet next to the kitchen. It was about 4 inches in diameter and had no apparent source.
May
On May 2, a post on Reddit’s home improvement sub led me to check under the dishwasher. I found water steadily dripping from one side of the dishwasher because an $18 valve had been leaking.
The water inlet valve
We removed the subfloor under the dishwasher and replaced it with plywood. I replaced the valve and began to wonder how extensive the damage had been. I imagined there was an under-floor stream that went from the dishwasher directly across the kitchen to the wet spot in the carpet. It was obvious that we would probably have to remove all of the wood laminate flooring but we had been planning that for some time anyway.
The river under the floor highlighted in blue. The original wet spot is circled in red.
After some rudimentary attempts to facilitate drying, on May 26 I posted on Reddit asking what else I should (or could) do. One helpful user told me to call my homeowners insurance company. This advice changed our lives.
June
Our insurance claim was accepted on June 9 and two weeks later our kitchen was entirely enclosed in plastic with dryers and dehumidifiers running 24 hours a day. Everything had been torn out including the floor, subfloor and all the cabinetry. We had to move the contents of our kitchen and dining room to the nearby family room.
We packed most of the contents of the kitchen and dining room into our family room.
The temperature inside the house peaked at 93º despite the “bubble” surrounding the dryers. This went on through the rest of the month.
Dehumidifiers and dryers. The kitchen was over 90º at night.
July
After everything was dry, negotiations between contractor and insurance company stretched over three frustrating weeks. Our original estimator left the contractor company shortly after our project began and the new estimator struggled with the regimented process required by the insurance company. On July 23, we signed a contract to have our kitchen rebuilt from floor to ceiling and it seemed like we would soon be done eating take-out on the picnic table on the deck outside and washing dishes in the laundry room.
August
Because the moisture had touched all the adjoining rooms – dining, family, living room/office and entryway – we got new floors for five rooms. We elected to have the same vinyl planking installed in all five. The contractor crew installed vinyl planking in all five rooms from August 3-6. They also put in new baseboards and repainted the kitchen.
Planking underway
No further work would be done in August as we awaited the cabinet maker but on August 11 we were able to move the stove back into the kitchen and return to eating at the dining room table. We were still stuck using the laundry room utility sink, though.
We temporarily reassembled the kitchen as best we could.
September
The new cabinets were installed on September 1 and 2 but we did not have counters yet.
Cabinets but no knobs, pulls or sink.
Tina had purchased the sink of her dreams from Wayfair after we cleared it with the project manager. Unfortunately, he had made a mistake because the sink required granite counters but we had decided to use the less expensive laminate counters. After we considered an upgrade to granite, we decided to send back the sink and go ahead with the laminate. It seemed that we were close to the finish line when a strong, dry wind blew into Oregon on September 7. Two days later the sky began to darken.
Rotating from northern view to western and then southern view.
Eventually the smoke from nearby fires would blanket Portland and the surrounding area for over a week. Our contractor was incommunicado during this time, further delaying the project. Eventually, we realized that they had been evacuated due to their close proximity to forest fires. The smoke cleared by mid-September but counter installation was delayed until the end of the month. In the meantime, they installed our new over-the-range microwave and moved the refrigerator back into place.
Finally, the counters were installed along with the new sink.
We had to wait a few more days for the dishwasher to be installed due to a part that had gone missing.
There should be a rubber gasket around this part.
October
Five months after discovering the source of the leak, our new kitchen remodel was finally nearing completion. During the first few days of October the dishwasher was installed, the backsplash was put into place and the finishing touch was the addition of door knobs and drawer pulls.
Our glorious new kitchenReverse angle of the completed kitchen
Epilog
I began shopping for a new refrigerator in November and found the perfect deal shortly before Christmas. The deal was so good that the model went out of stock for two months. It was finally delivered in February.
Saturday I drove down to Happy Valley to pick up Graham following an overnight at his friend’s house. On the way there I saw a monstrous building and noted it was a church. On the way back home, we stopped so I could get a picture. I posted the first picture to Instagram (warning: link opens iTunes). In that picture, I included the sign as a point of reference but it somewhat eclipsed the gigantic church so I moved a few steps east and snapped another:
Two iTunes gift certificates worth $45 (not pictured) – redeeming for various apps and songs
Amazon gift certificate for $50 (not pictured) – redeemed for iLife ’11
Thanks to Buddy, Leroy, Tom, Jan, Michelle & Ric, Tina, Thomas, Graham and the Kittens. I know I’m hard to shop for and appreciate when people do so anyway.
If you were a teen in the 80s like me then you probably remember the short-lived sketch comedy series, Fridays, on ABC. Although it only lasted two seasons, it left an indelible impression on my young brain.
Sadly, a DVD release of those two seasons is reportedly held up by Michael Richards. Luckily, YouTube has most of their great sketches including the ones I’ve included below the fold: Continue reading “Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll”
I spent most of last week in Milwaukee (actually Menomonee Falls), Wisconsin, searching for the cause of a crash in our software that is adversely affecting a client. I flew into Milwaukee on Monday, spent three days on the client site and planned to fly back home Thursday evening. Thursday morning I glanced at my Google Calendar on my iPhone for my departure time. This is what I saw: Continue reading “An Extra Day in Milwaukee”
Last Thursday morning Tina and I got new tattoos in downtown Troutdale. I have a free touch-up which I can use in a couple of months if it starts to lighten. I may get the letters draw bolder then.
