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.

I Like 'Seeing' Progress

I'm the kind of person that likes to see the results of my efforts - on a daily basis. Working in the crazy bidness of Construction gives me the chance to appreciate what was accomplished in the short as well as the long term. It's cool to step back & look at the final product.

Crazy deadlines, manpower & subcontractor headaches, quality control, client expectations, cost management, coordination of multiple trades - all parts of the ongoing challenge. Some days are more aggravating than others but solving problems is just part of the gig. I have to admit, it's problem solving that I thrive on. It's awesome when someone tells me they can't (or won't) do something. That gives me the chance to prove they can (& will) & then push 'em like crazy 'til it's done.

There are times when things get loud & sometimes downright nasty, but these situations are usually rare. Most of the time, there's a good deal of comaraderie & a good mix of hysterical practical jokes & good natured kidding. We all get to the finish line in great shape, like old buddies.








For me, having to do something totally redundant day in & day out would drive me bat s**t. That's not a knock against anyone else's profession - I just couldn't be an accountant or salesman or anything like that. It wouldn't matter what I was paid - just couldn't do it. I think ya really gotta like what ya do.

BTW - The first 2 pics in this post were taken during construction. The last 3 are shots of the final product - in the same areas about 6 weeks later. This is what I mean when I say .... I like 'seeing' progress.

Another St Augustine Surprise

First of all - I don't think this picture was taken by me or Deb. It may be from a website, so my apologies to the photographer.

This happens to be a shot of The St Augustine Hilton taken from the harbor. Really - it's a hotel! It was designed and constructed to carry the theme of the old city, since it's smack dab in the middle of town. I passed this place who-knows-how-many-times, & always assumed it was just a cluster of nice little houses. It may sound silly, but maybe we'll spend a weekend there & check it out. Heck - it's only 10 minutes from our house - I can let Nubber (the cat) out in the morning. He gets grouchy if he's not perched on his chair on the back porch bright and early (& stays there 'til 11 or 12 each night).

Just thought I'd throw in another example of what a great place this is for visitors. Since I mentioned a website - check out www.augustine.com maybe you'll see the same picture online. I dunno. Have a great weekend.

I'm Baaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!!

Haven't blogged in forever - lots has been going on. Deb was really sick with the same thing she had in January - I can't pronounce it but it's something that affects the soft tissue around the ribs & such & it's very painful & lasts a couple weeks or more. She's finally feeling human & I still suck as a cook.

I took today off - prearranged - we went downtown early this morning. First stop - the coffee shop. $3 for a medium regular coffee these days. Next stop - pics aren't quite in order - the cemetery - then some side streets & then the lighthouse. So what (you're probably not asking) were we doing?

We (mostly Deb) were taking pictures (then modified 'em later at home to B&W sketches) for another new project we're workin' on together.

What a great morning! After tramping around our hometown of St A, we ran back to the house (10 minutes from downtown) - had lunch - got changed - ran to the beach for a few hours (perfect & the beach was almost empty) - returned home - got cleaned up - made mussels marinara for dinner (over linguini or fettucini I always get them mixed up) - worked on photos - drank more coffee - printed out some pics &.... uhmmmm ... that's about it. Oh - Hurried up & threw a post together.

By the way - sold an article - don't know when it will be out but they tell me they're sending a check out right away. So... that was kinda cool.

Hopefully (my big project is being wrapped up in a few days) I'll be able to spend some time posting & reading blogs again. In a few weeks maybe I can post some good news. It's good to be back. (PS - 1st & Last Photos are the same pic)

How Stuff Ends Up In A Story

How does a nice B&B (Casa de Suenos) like this get turned into part of a story? It does in Chapter 17 of my first completed manuscript. The chapter deals with a romantic carriage ride enjoyed by soon to be 16-year-old Jack (the main character) & his girlfriend Talia during twilight in St Augustine.

Deb & I went for a carriage ride Thanksgiving night a year & a half ago after a nice dinner at 'The Columbia'. It was a fantastic, mid 70 degree evening with a light breeze & lots of stars. The city is always lit up from Thanksgiving through January. They call it 'The Nights of Lights' & literally every building & bridge is covered with little white lights - millions of them. It's quite awesome. I was writing Bad Latitude at the time & during that holiday weekend, decided to make the ride part of the story. This B&B was one of many sites that caught my eye so I included it, along with a healthy dose of pure baloney. Here's an excerpt that shows how a 30 second pause became a small part of a very tall tale .....

Even Dumpy (the horse) understood it was a ride not to be rushed and he clip-clopped through the quiet streets as if it was the last fare of a long night. Fifteen minutes into the tour, Jack asked Elayne (the carriage driver) to pull to the curb as he pointed toward an ornate house serving as one of St Augustine’s elegant bed and breakfast accommodations.

“Do you see those large windows with the circular tops across the front?” asked Jack. Talia nodded and rolled her eyes, knowing a story was on the way. Elayne held back gently on the reins and shifted sideways in her seat. She wasn't bashful about eavesdropping and decided to do so comfortably.

“More than one hundred and fifty years ago this building was used as a funeral home. In its’ heyday, it was one of the few mortuaries where bodies were embalmed before burial. Can you guess the reason for the large windows?”

Talia’s eyebrows arched. “Don’t tell me they did the embalming in front of the windows so people could watch.”

“No, but you’re close. Elayne, do you know?”

“I think so, but let's hear your version, if you don’t mind.”

Jack continued. “Because the mortician was able to preserve the bodies using the newfangled method, he displayed his handiwork right there in those windows. Once the body was prepared, it was dressed up real nice, make up was applied, and the corpse was placed in a propped-up casket with the lid removed. It was left to stand, facing the street, for as long as two whole weeks. Neighbors would gather to pay their respects and admire the undertaker's artistry. The funeral director always set the burial date in order to get the maximum use out of his clients. It was an early form of advertising, paid for by allowing the family a discount for his services, based on the number of days the stiff remained, uh... useful.”

Talia giggled. “Did they post a sign below the dead people saying ‘This could be you’?”

Elayne laughed and added, “They did put price tags at the bottom of the, uhm... displays. Helped to hide the bare feet. Shoes didn't get wasted in those days. If someone was buried with their boots on, you'd better believe they'd have been dug up by morning an' left in the box with just their naked little toes poking up.”

"When did the undertaker or director decide on a burial date?" asked Talia.

"Once the fingers started turning black and curling away from the body," said Jack.

"That's so gross. You're making that up!"

Elayne turned to face forward. "Sorry kid. He's telling the truth, but forgot to mention that if the undertaker didn't get the embalming just right, purplish patches would spread across the dead guy's face and then the little show was over. Guess it was sorta like fruit going bad, without the little flies."

Talia felt her stomach churn as she buried her face in the side of Jack's chest. She was trying to force the image out of her mind.

Jack winked at Elayne as they moved away from the curb. "The fly thing was a nice touch. I'll have to remember to use it next time."

So, I guess it's kinda strange - how my mind works, that is. There really is a story hidden away just about everywhere. Even in a short pause during a peaceful ride.