But one thing. There was no lost data.
“No,” I said. “Don’t worry. I have a backup in the security deposit box at the bank. And I have another backup sitting unplugged on my desk. And I have a third backup that’s running continuously. So don’t worry; just replace the hard drive.”
Whitney sighed with relief on the other end of the line. He didn’t think the conversation was going to be a good one.
“It doesn’t usually go like this,” he said.
(Let that be a cautionary tell for you.)
And so you see, there is an explanation for the last four months.
It starts with a PDF file and a spinning beach ball. There is that phone call from Whitney in the United States as the three of us drove across Ontario towards Algonquin Provincial Park. There are the abortive attempts to replace the hard drive and then the screen cable and then the screen and then the motherboard. And then there were the at-first abortive attempts to get this system functional again, ending with an unintended explosion of test messages and finally… Well, here we are.
The full explanation can perhaps wait for another day. Right now, I need to finish this shake and pour my coffee and get in the car and sit on the highway and… Well, make the donuts.