Just when you think nothing else could go wrong…  Two lovely couples arrived with Ethan to watch the sunset, who are camping in Popham, and are Mainers.  The e-mail I had to send when they left to the head of the Island Committee and President of the Board of FOSI follows:

Hi Dave and friends,

The good news is no one was hurt.

The bad news is that the top of the flagpole came down.  It was bent and rusted at the seam about 6 inches from the top, and that piece, including the pulley system, is what came crashing down as we were lowering it with two couples who were camping in Popham that Ethan had brought over to watch the sunset.  It was scary, but fortunately didn’t diminish their intent to keep the flag off the ground and fold it up properly.  It was hard to lower anyway but if you lined up the rope just right with the pulley, it was smooth; if the rope were off to the side, it would jam.  Before I could explain that to these two good natured guys, their enthusiasm got the better of them and it snapped.

It is a bit odd that the configuration at the top has two pulleys when only one is used.  I think this pole is on a hinge so that a pin or the like can be taken out allowing someone to walk down the pole.  If you have time this week, as you said you might, do you want to see if the two of us can fix it?  Is this something that should be part of the work weekend?  Will the work weekend take place?

France and I have some thoughts about projects we’d like to talk with Dee about on Wednesday.  Now that this has happened, perhaps it will become a priority to fix.  Should it be replaced (can it be replaced) or can we insert a slightly smaller diameter pipe between these two pieces and weld them together?  I await your feelings about this and the best way to go about getting the flag flying again as soon as possible.

Thanks so much for coming to the rescue and taking our friends to the shore.  There was no one in the emergency room in Brunswick when they arrived, the staff was very friendly and accommodating, she didn’t have a fracture and they were on the road back to New York in no time.  What we did with the bandage and ice kept it from swelling; it’s just a bad sprain.  Thank you.  How long has it been since someone was allowed to ride on the tram?

Best regards,

Michael