Burst Pipe. Actually today is my ex’s Birthday - and yeah, I screwed up. I wrote the following letter Thursday afternoon, had the envelope addressed and stamped, and then I FORGOT to put it in the mail. Sorry.

I finally got to talk to Mom and Dad; a half-hour call last night and another half-hour today.

Dad had driven four hundred miles from Virginia Beach on Saturday. I caught them after they were only in the house for twenty minutes or so.

When they got in the house, Dad heard strange noises. It turns out sometime in the last one and a half months a hot water pipe broke. They came home to find the pump running. Dad noticed the wheel spinning on the electric meter.

I called back today as the plumber was crawling under the house to figure out the damage. He could not fix the leak today, but at least he left them with cold water.

I had always told them to shut off the pump when they go away. Oh well. Damn my siblings for not being more proactive! They have some heat tape on the pipes but if the electric goes out, as it apparently did, it is useless. The good news is that since they have no basement, the water did not cause any damage to the house.

They have ordered the typewriter so hopefully it will be here soon. I apologized for calling back today but they said it was okay. I explained how good it was to hear their voices. Dad said they went to see Joan Rivers with another couple and every third word was "fuck this or that." He did not enjoy it much.

I am emotionally wound up, but I feel better knowing Mom and Dad are home safe and that they did order the typewriter and some of the other stuff I needed. I just wish I could get a letter once in a while letting me know what is up.

I tried to watch Anchorman today with Christina Applegate but it really sucked. You can not leave the TV area unless it is on the hour, so I had to sit through one hour of the movie!

I saw the recent King Arthur remake and then the Friday night flick was League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Sean Connery; it was mildly interest but I still feel it is a waste of time to watch action flicks with spectacular visual effects on a regular size TV.

Well, otherwise things are crawling along here. I hope you really enjoyed your vacation and got in some great skiing! More to come!  ¶ 7:06 AM