In 1968 I showed my father an article in Car and Driver by Brock Yates. It was that review of the BMW 2002 that prompted him to buy this car, which will be picked up today in Evansville, loaded onto a seventy-six foot tractor trailer, and then dropped off here in Acton later this week. […]
“You can write it but only if you add that I never take a vacation, I never ask to go to France, all I want is that he take care of my boys.” Mark and I were finishing toasted chicken, cheese and tomato sandwiches Jan made for lunch, and we were about to go back […]
I begged Matthew to help me on Thursday at Adam’s but he simply and unequivocally said, no. Coming Sunday, “True Love.”
Today, I helped Robby and Matthew install a stockade fence in Weston at Polly’s house. I never would have taken the job without them; I’m so far beyond digging in New England soil, and this fence needed eight holes, each better than a foot and half deep. The first hole, Matthew’s introduction to what the […]
“I can’t do anymore.” “Anymore what?” “I can’t paint anymore.” “Why not?” “I’ve been painting for nine hours. I can’t paint anymore.” “Nine hours? We got here at 8” “7:30” “Right. But it’s only 2:30 now.” Both of us quickly raise our hands, fingers extended. I use my left hand to count full hours. Matt […]
I had to add one more photo of Mark’s roof. If you look closely, you can see the area around the chimney that needed to be removed. Friday, we’ll put it all back together but in the meantime, both Mark and Jan wrote to tell me that the roof leaked like a sieve during Saturday’s […]
Sitting around the campfire with Matt’s friends, Daryl, Robbie and Joe, Matt looked up at me and said, ” Dad, where did you get that sweater?” “It was Steven Varga’s. He gave it to me,” I answered. In the movie Seven Samurai, Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune) plucks a fly out of the air with his chopsticks. […]
An addendum to Wednesday and Matt’s work. Matthew has worked with levels before, therefore I didn’t take the time to explain how the bubble must rest with each edge touching an outside line.When I climbed up on his plank to check his progress, I could see that a board or two had a bit of […]
I hallelujahed too soon. The rains returned and with them the blue tarps, and all the complications of hiding from the wet and working in 100% humidity. The primer, for one, that Matt and I applied to the back side of the cedar siding never dried, leaving us and our tools covered in white paint. […]
I find blue tarps irritating. They should bring memories of camaraderie. After all, we spend so much time under them in Maine during our fall camping trips. And maybe that is the problem, so much time, so many years hiding from the snow and rain, being forced to dance around the fire as funneled wind […]