A Big Truck

The other day I kept hearing this noise out front....I finally looked out the window and there was this big truck in the middle of the road. Didn't think much of it...except I kept hearing it out there. Finally I REALLY looked at it. Couldn't really figure out what it was doing...but it had cones all around it and appeared to be near a manhole.

So, I called to Elias and showed him and we ended up running out the door to get up close and personal with it, whatever it was.

I've found that when you show interest in someone's job, they are usually very willing to talk to you about it. So, we carefully went up to the truck and asked what they were doing. These two wonderful older men explained that they were cleaning the sewer. Not like the poopies, but all the rocks and things that clutter up the pipes.

They explained how they had flushed for a few streets, and then at our street had vacuumed it all up. Sadly, we missed the vacuuming part. That would have been great fun to see. They told us about all sorts of crazy things they've seen down in the drains...bikes, bowling balls, etc. I can't even imagine! They said some people lift the manhole covers and throw stuff in there. Sometimes I am shocked at behaviors because they are just not something I've ever seen or thought of doing...this was one of those times. How rude...but anyway...

So, we got to look way down into the manhole, looked at the water at the bottom, the ladder on the side....it was a great time. Elias loved it.

Big truck..the black hose is the vacuum.



Soon the men packed up to go, but they didn't go far! They went to a fire hydrant just down the street. We ambled on over and watched as they attached their hose and filled their 4 big tanks.






How neat and unexpected. We've really learned to grab life as it comes and make the most of experiences. Now we know what's down manholes!