DEEP FREEZE - Final Segment (Scroll down for earlier segments)

     After several days, Butch and Ginger had to leave but said they would take their experiences on the farm with them forever, or until they could find a place to dump them alongside the road.

     I felt bad they had to leave so soon.  The very next day we had water spraying in the utility and under the house.  This signaled the beginning of our annual Pipe Burst Festival. 

    The Ice Sculpting competition was always popular.  The Plumber in Ice was everyone’s favorite.  Another crowd-pleaser was the Plumber’s Speed Crawl.   In this event, at least six plumbers would position themselves under the local homes.  At the sound of rushing water, they would stampede for the exit.  (Stampeding on your back can be extremely challenging.)  The first plumber to reach his exit received an all-expenses paid trip to the Plumber’s Pipe wrench Convention in Drain, Oregon---a real town!  

     The rest of the plumber’s continue to practice their stampeding skills. 

  

     I called our friends to invite them to next year’s festival, but the operator kept telling me they had an unlisted number.  I finally sent a letter, but it came back, saying they had moved and left no forwarding address.  Maybe they don’t want to return, I thought.  No, I’m sure that’s just a figment of my imagination, I convinced myself as I inched closer to the woodstove to get warm.

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