Life without the Net

• Three years ago, we bought a house in New Hampshire.
  
• The lot was mostly wooded.
  
• About eight tall pines were perilously close to the house. They leaned toward the house and smothered the roof and deck with needles and sap.
  
• The previous owner loved birds, and had nailed bird feeders to many of the trees.
  
• Tree cutters did not want to touch the trees because of the metal, wary of possible damage to saw blades.
  
• Some quotes did come in, for around 10 k$ to remove the eight trees.
  
• Someone agreed to take the trees in question, for free, if he could take enough other trees (about thirty) to turn a profit at the saw mill.
  
• Being a naïve city boy, I had no clue about the mess he would leave behind.
  
• Even worse, someone reported us for damaging wetlands, which I have to believe generates a greater and more rapid response from the authorities than if you are accused of cannibalism.
  
• A church friend in the construction business provided an excavator to help with the cleanup.
  
• The excavator cut through the cable that delivers the cable TV and provides the internet connection.
  
• The same friend invited us over on Saturday night so that we could see the NASCAR race. Kevin Harvick crashed. It was that kind of weekend.
  
• Here I am at Barnes and Noble catching up of three days of missed email (Seventy-four messages, according to Outlook).
  
• It wasn't so long ago, was it, that I survived without a 24/7 broadband connection?