Men at Work (Not!)

Back in the lane, back in my tingzijian.

And plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. The rotten floorboards have been replaced, but the big stink in the powder room is back. And a tad of demolition is going on at the house two doors away, as you can clearly see from my bedroom balcony and hear from anywhere in the house, all day long.

The other night around 9:30 my neighbor texted me: “Can you believe what’s going on out there?”

Apparently a bulldozer had arrived at the entrance of our little lane, intending to roll down and clear away the rubble. Now, just as a reminder, here is what our lane looks like. (The house undergoing demolition is at the end.)Not a lot of room here for a bulldozer.

My neighbor said that her husband and the man next door, as well as the elected head honcho of our lane, were out defending our territory from invasion, especially at night. I was already tucked in with a book, in my pjs, and my own husband was away. I may have had a sexist thought: Bulldozers and all. Let the men handle it.

My neighbor later said that the menfolk were successful, but she was pretty sure the bulldozer would be back soon, “probably at midnight.”

The next day I was walking on the street a block behind our lane, and I came across this. Mind you, I had not seen the bulldozer in our lane, and heavy equipment is a common sight everywhere in town. But I wondered whether this might be our enemy, at the ready for another charge. So I photographed it to show my neighbor.

Taking the picture made me take a closer look. There, where I guess there are foot pedals. (I’m assuming the thing has brakes and an accelerator, maybe a clutch to operate it.) What do you see?You go, girl! But maybe you could find some more comfortable shoes?

If the bulldozer comes back, no matter what time it is, I will definitely go out in the lane and check out the operator’s footwear.