Of Pirate Ships and Silver Steeds :: Personal Narrative Jobs Working Papers

Of Pirate Ships and Silver Steeds We poured the foundation yesterday, and now we were pulling the forms off the cement and hauling them out--back onto Ralph, our two-ton truck. The sun beat down. As I bent over to pick up another eight incher I glanced towards the pit. First, came a black bandanna. Next, came protruding straggles of curly blond hair. Then, a grimace and a roll of the eyes--Danny's trademark--appeared as the young man hauled himself out of the hole. Following the head, came a tattered shirt and matching shorts. The holes in the shorts were normal, but when Danny turned imploringly toward me I discovered the cause of the shredded shirt. Aaron had just hopped off the top of the foundation, and he said as he walked towards the truck, "I'll be back. Tell the other guys. Just do the fillers on the outside, and then you can start on the inside. I should be back by then." Then came the usual, "Take your time. Be careful. Take lunch in a while." Dan raised his arm and asked, "Do I have one back here too? It feels like there is something there, but I can't see it." I swallowed and nodded. "Hop on in Dan," Aaron called as he started the truck. Gingerly Danny responded. They were heading for the hospital where he would receive fifty-three stitches to close up the two holes in his side. "Well, another exciting day working cement," I thought as the F-250 pulled away. Dan had slipped on his first attempt to get out of the hole, and he fell against two flat-ties protruding from the newly created foundation. Flat-ties are those thin pieces of silver metal that stick out from the walls in your basement before it gets finished. As the forms for the walls are being set in place on top of the footings, flat-ties are sent through the wall so that the inside form can be connected to the outside form. Although this whole idea about flat-ties may seem intriguing, the important thing to learn is that if one flat-tie is left out, however insignificant this may seem, the pressure of the cement is sufficient to cause a 'blowout' in the wall. Many times I think that people forget to enjoy the details in their lives, and so events turn into 'blowouts' instead of grand adventures. Mylan, my boss, has a wife and seven girls to worry about.