men at work

 "Claudia," said the Real Estate Lady. "You have to write a letter of complaint to the Department of Trans- portation for the state and the Director of Public Works for the town. "They have to fix your driveway. Your problems are caused by the runoff from a state road, and the town has the contract for repairs for the state."
   I did not write a letter, but I did call the road crew. Yesterday. I told them that I had been paying for loads of road mix, but I now understood that it was their problem.
    Today they showed up early in the morning, bearing dump truck loads of gravel and dirt. They regraded the road shoulder and the driveway in a total redo. I was so happy. I called the Real Estate Lady. She said, "Well it won't last, because you need proper drainage. You write that letter. You're a writer. Tell them to send out an engineer."

Camilla inspects the new grade—so gentle a child can walk it!