Tearing it up
Last Wednesday night I headed for Nebraska, to give George a hand with the roofing project at his folks' place that he's been putting off for a few months now. I took Old Highway 30 most of the way, preferring the old route to the steady truck traffic on I-80. Along 30 east of Pine Bluffs I passed several custom combine crews making their way west and north. I don't know where they go from Nebraska, after laying low the fields there. Jon Krakauer talks about the combine crews in Into the Wild, and I wish I knew more about their migratory path.
Thursday morning dawned hot and sunny, and even hotter with the sun reflecting off the corrugated metal we were pulling off the shed. By midday it was approaching one hundred degrees, so we took a long lunch and then went back out to tear off wood shingles and pull more nails.
Friday I helped George for about a half day--between the two of us and his brother Charles we were able to strip the roof down to the base layer and get ice shield rolled out in the valleys before it got too hot to do any more work.
So I headed down to Greeley, to wish sister Sarah a happy birthday and see my grandparents one more time before they head back home to Phoenix from their trip. I didn't complain one bit when Sarah served me a pork chop after I'd had one the night before at George's. Funny thing is, I just was thinking the other day how long it's been since I've had a pork chop. And now: pork chop windfall!
Saturday, after seeing my grandparents off and having a fine breakfast with Sarah and Joel and Kendall, I came on back to Laramie, leaving plenty of time for a beer at the Buck before Josh and Julie and I claimed our seats at Demolition Derby '09. It was the best year yet, except for the absence of motorcycle barrel-racing.
I think it's important to attend demolition derby once in a while--in the same way it's important to hang out at Lumberjack Jamboree, in the same way it's good to help tear off a roof or help butcher chickens or listen to an NPR story about a guy who works as a professional comic book artist. It's important to know what other people do for a living, what is necessary to make the big world go round. I'm not saying that demolition derby is necessary for advanced culture, but it creates the opportunity to see things that otherwise rarely come into my field of vision. Tow trucks, crumple zones, gas fires--these are things that are laid open at the demolition derby, exposed for a view I wouldn't have in my narrow circle of habit.
Thursday morning dawned hot and sunny, and even hotter with the sun reflecting off the corrugated metal we were pulling off the shed. By midday it was approaching one hundred degrees, so we took a long lunch and then went back out to tear off wood shingles and pull more nails.
Friday I helped George for about a half day--between the two of us and his brother Charles we were able to strip the roof down to the base layer and get ice shield rolled out in the valleys before it got too hot to do any more work.
So I headed down to Greeley, to wish sister Sarah a happy birthday and see my grandparents one more time before they head back home to Phoenix from their trip. I didn't complain one bit when Sarah served me a pork chop after I'd had one the night before at George's. Funny thing is, I just was thinking the other day how long it's been since I've had a pork chop. And now: pork chop windfall!
Saturday, after seeing my grandparents off and having a fine breakfast with Sarah and Joel and Kendall, I came on back to Laramie, leaving plenty of time for a beer at the Buck before Josh and Julie and I claimed our seats at Demolition Derby '09. It was the best year yet, except for the absence of motorcycle barrel-racing.
I think it's important to attend demolition derby once in a while--in the same way it's important to hang out at Lumberjack Jamboree, in the same way it's good to help tear off a roof or help butcher chickens or listen to an NPR story about a guy who works as a professional comic book artist. It's important to know what other people do for a living, what is necessary to make the big world go round. I'm not saying that demolition derby is necessary for advanced culture, but it creates the opportunity to see things that otherwise rarely come into my field of vision. Tow trucks, crumple zones, gas fires--these are things that are laid open at the demolition derby, exposed for a view I wouldn't have in my narrow circle of habit.
Comments