sounds in the night

8 pm last night. A very loud sound pours into my windows.

It's the sound of two, massive-sized trailer trucks, blinking yellow and red lights, doing some kind of road work. 

10pm. Noise has not abated. Not one bit. It's awful.

On the side of the two big white trucks are letters reading ACV. I google them and find a number. 

I call and get a person. This alone is astonishing. The very nice woman answering says she'll connect me to a dispatcher. She does.

I get Ernie. I even open my window so Ernie can hear the persistent sound of the idling trucks. He agrees. "That's really loud. I wouldn't like that either."

He tells me he'll find out what is going on and will call me back. Ya sure.

But he does. Within five minutes.

Turns out there's a problem on my street. Con Ed has subcontracted with this company called ACV to do some maintenance work to prevent a power outage in my neighborhood. The process involves using a gigantic, vacuum-like machine, housed in these trailers. The sound I'm hearing is the mega-vacuum as well as the idling trucks.

I find some kind of weird comfort in Ernie's explanation. And the words power outage are enough to make me accept just about any prolonged noise to prevent it.

In the midst of everything else that is going on, imagine no power. No phone. No TV. No internet. No lights. No Zoom. 

I thank him and hang up. More relieved than not.

Less than ten minutes later the trucks are gone. 

Doubt it was my call. 

Hope it wasn't my call.

Would hate to think of this job left unfinished.