Can we talk?

Rotten Eggs

         We had an adventure today. It was very windy out, but the smell of rotten eggs was very evident outside. You could smell it in the driveway, the front of the house, the other side of the house, but not inside. I dialed the fuel company and handed the phone to my father. I put it on speaker phone so that he could hear her. (He still puts it up to his ear.)

         The first thing she asked was if he had hit the line while doing yard work. She tried to make it sound like he had done something to the line. (I could hear from the other room.) He told her the tanks were above ground, and the line is attached to the house. She said she'd call back. About 40 minutes later, she called and said Greg was on his was and would be there in about 10 minutes.

         An hour after that, the smell was still strong and making people cough. My dad was fuming about paying for the gas being lost into the air and worrying about something happening before Greg got there. He had me call back. I did and I asked if we should call 911 to avoid an explosion. She said no, but she would check on Greg's whereabouts. We all went outside to wait.

         Finally, a utility truck pulled into the driveway. It was a leak in the line right where it runs into the house. He replaced the part. Within 5 to 10 minutes from his departure there was no smell.

         We were lucky we were at home. What if it had gone on for days, and we didn't hang around outside to smell it? Maybe it had been going on for days, but the rain kept the odor down. If we had found it at night, we probably would have called 911.

         It's over now. The smell is real. If you find the rotten egg smell, and no rotten eggs, call for help.