Love in the Time of Combined Sewer Overflow
Justin works at the Cleveland Clinic. His girlfriend Jackie picks Him up from work and drop him off at home a few days a week. They frequently pass construction on Woodhill. They always see the equipment, but they never see anybody working there. They spoke about it from time to time.
“The sign says something about Doan Valley.”
“I never heard of Doan valley. I heard of the Doan brook before.”
“I heard of that too. I think Its right around my job somewhere.”
“It’s big It starts somewhere in Shaker, and it runs under that hotel by where you work.”
“When I was working there every time it rained hard the sewer would back up. I’m surprised you never had to deal with that.”
“No, the sewers never backed up since I been there, but I do remember hearing about an underground river”
As they passed the plaza on Buckeye Jackie looked ahead and saw the chaotic intersection at 116th. “Why people always go to stop in the middle of the street.” she muttered.
You should just turn down this side street it will take you right to Forest where Chilies is. It was a brick street and as we they bumped along. Jackie saw a family of deer. Then there was a weird springing sound.
“What the heck was that?!”
“I told you to stop running over stuff when you see it. You busted your tire on this side.”
The nearest tire place was on 116th. They replaced the tire efficiently and put the old one in the trunk as if she could still use it or something. Jackie was frustrated trying to figure out what the so with the old time. Justin suggested that she put the tire behind Mr. V’s. She never did, Jackie hated it when people left tires in inappropriate places. It made the city look so trashy.
As they pulled up on the side of his house. Jackie went ahead and asked the question that had been on my mind for weeks. Do you think we need to reevaluate the nature of our relationship?
What did I do wrong?
It’s not anything you did or didn’t do I just feel so tired it’s like there is no fun in our relationship. Like I’s just one more obligation.
Bae, I know it seems like I ask for a lot sometimes. but this is only for a few more months. I’m getting my car running next month and I’ll be able to get my license back in January.
It’s not that it’s just like we never have any fun together
Justin had signed up to go on Eventbrite. They said seats were limited so he wanted to be there on time. It only took 4 minutes to get there, so they ended up being early. When the trolley pulled up a respectable number of people from the first tour got off. They waited 20 minutes for the rest of the participants to arrive besides the young couple there were an older woman with her 2 grandsons, and 2 men and a woman in their thirties. All of them looked like they rode bikes everywhere. This was Jackie and Justin’s -time taking Lolly the Trolley. The windows were made of soft plastic that you had to unzip to open It was a short ride to the site. Justin really did not know what they were supposed to be touring when he signed up. but it turned out to be a spot, he used to pass every day when he caught the 14 heading downtown. For most of his life he perceived it as a junkyard affiliated with the metal recycling place across the street. but it turns out it was just an illegal dumping ground where people deposited unwanted tires and other items that were unsuitable for regular trash disposal including horses.
The tour guide told the whole story of how the city’s sewer system was inadequate. Sometimes when there was a storm the sewage would get in the river or even the lake. All the work they had been seeing consisted mainly of clearing away junk and planting vegetation that was hardy and could soak up a lot of water. All the facts the tour guide explained about the city made Justin reflect on the way nature balances itself. Back in the day when everyone thought Cleveland was a good city, it was being destroyed from within by environmental neglect. Now that everyone thought of Cleveland as a poo rustbelt city people were able to see and appreciate the beauty and value of the land itself. Jackie couldn’t believe that anyone had ever thought combined sewers were a good idea. People were always trying to save money on the wrong things.
The Fresh Fest even they attended was about more than just touring reclaimed land to prevent flooding and pollution. There was a whole area full of vendors with food and assorted items for sale. He got Jacke a belt made of turquoise beads. Jackie was disappointed when she noticed the venue had a beer garden. It did not seem like the type of thing a bunch of community minded do-gooders should promote. She prayed that the beer would be too expensive for Justin to overindulge, and her prayers were answered. “ $4 for one little beer, must be a fundraiser or something.”
Another prayer of hers was answered when she received a pamphlet that told her how to properly dispose of unwanted items. It turns out that all she had to do was leave the tire on the tree lawn at the proper time of the month and the city would come pick it up. All those extra tires she was seeing must have been from people who just didn’t know the schedule. In the same little bags with the pamphlets, they got bottles with instructions on how to make environmentally friendly cleaning products using borax and castile soap.
There were a lot of different local bands playing that Justin had never heard of. Jackie was familiar with Carlos Jones and the Plus band but what they were really looking forward to a performance by Biz Markie. As they waited for the main event, they chatted with a foreign dude that gave them gardening tips and tried some vegan chili from a food truck. As the sun went down the crowd began to compress towards the main stage. Jackie thought to herself. I really should be more appreciative towards Justin. He is a good friend.