Tuesday, 4:30 PM
"We're home. Let's wash our hands and get ready for Tae Kwon Do." "Okay, Mommy."
"What? Oh my God!"
In the backyard, a pipe burst. Water is gushing like the news footage of the BP leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Frantically, my daughter and I rush into the house, and I reconnoiter an emergency plumber from the Yellow Pages. An hour and half later, the plumber begins rectifying my emergency. Fifty years ago, that pipe was solid and impenetrable. Today, it is decay.



