Airborne

In yesterday's Bleat, Lileks commented that his gazebo had become momentarily airborne by the autumn wind, and maybe it's time to pack the thing up. I wish I had realized gazebo weather was over, myself. We have (or had) one that is nearly identical to Lileks'. Three days ago, we experienced a microburst in our neighborhood -- the local news reported a funnel cloud very nearby, so it was Scary Weather time. The winds were sufficient to pick up our gazebo, launch it over our neighbor's house, and slam it into her front yard. The thing is totally demolished. I wish I had snapped some photos of the wreckage before my husband cleared it away. It was a tangle of bent metal and canvas, which also managed to damage our neighbors' truck to the tune of $700. She is being exceptionally nice about the whole thing and has asked us to forget about the damage, but we're going to pay for it anyway (good-neighbor relations are priceless). Dunno if home-owners insurance pays for this kind of thing, but I hope so.