It's What We Do

Both of my boys are in the construction business, like me, like my dad & like my great grandfather. Both of MY grandfathers were mechanics so they screwed up the link in the family history just a bit.

The other day, oldest son Mike emailed me a few pictures of a project he's doing at the state capital in Pennsylvania. It's a pretty cool job, a major repair to prevent further damage to the historic building itself as well as the protection of the priceless murals inside. I was very impressed, but then, I'm always extremely proud of my boys anyway & love them both like crazy. Here's one from Mike.



So, I got to thinkin'. Maybe I could do a blog post about what THEY do. So I emailed younger son Chris, asking him to send me some pics of one of his projects. Here's what I got from that chucklehead.





It seems that about 2 weeks ago, Chris' company had a problem on a project (on the outskirts of Philly) which resulted in a 'little' fire (20 engine companies responded) that wiped out a couple of buildings & damaged some others that were already completed. It just figures that he would send me THOSE pics instead of something displaying fancy millwork or funky multi-tiered ceilings, but then, like me, & my father before - my boys are a coupla smart alecks that just happen to build things.

Oh geez.... I just realized, I included only one of Mike's pics & two of Chris'. Now Mike's gonna be mad at me & Chris will think he's the favorite. Uh Oh... Sorry Mike.

Creative Insults

Thought I would post these - since I'm in a bit of a grumpy, soggy kind of mood during these rainy & windy days.

These insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still valued, before a great portion of the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words.
From David Spiselman

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"He had delusions of adequacy."
Walter Kerr

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway). [Side note from JaxPop - I've never been a Faulkner fan but have enjoyed Hemingway]

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner) [You tell 'im Ernie]

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
Moses Hadas [Sounds a bit like a literary agent]

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know."
Abraham Lincoln [2nd favorite]

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
Mark Twain [My favorite]

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one."
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one."
Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."
Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
Paul Keating

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."
Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt."
Robert Redford

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination."
Andrew Lang

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music."
Billy Wilder

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
Groucho Marx

No Rain Dances Please

I can't believe it's been 5 weeks since my last post. Well, there are a few good reasons (excuses) for this.

1st of all, I'm involved in a 'mission nearly impossible' kind of project. One with a ridiculous schedule & a contract that includes penalty clauses if deadlines aren't met - In the meantime, we've lost 14 out of 40 work days due to rain.

2nd - I spent a couple of days in the hospital in late July. I'm OK, don't remember the first day. Home in time for my birthday which everyone forgot - as usual (except for Deb). Why is that I wonder?

3rd - Polishing (again) a manuscript. It's amazing how there's always something to tweak, especially when trying to show rather than tell. I've been doing an exhaustive line by line word by word final critique with modifications.

4th - We're struggling through tropical storm Fay - & we have relatives from Pennsylvania visiting all week - they've been stuck indoors for a couple of days now. Started with a rainy day Tuesday. The TS hit St Augustine Wednesday - & stalled off the coast. Day 1 - about 12" of sideways rain in 9 hours. Day 2 it started to move a bit - 4" of rain. Day 3 - The back edge of the storm so we're going to get another 6" - to go with the high winds. The storm is slow moving so as it spins - we keep getting nailed over & over again. Lots of flooding, bridges closed, power outages, & nuts trying to surf.

Hopefully things will settle a bit in September - though I hear there's a good chance for a rather large hurricane in our not so distant future.