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 glacier left behind, took an hour to dig.<\/p>\n
With Matt grumbling, and temps in the nineties, I decided an incentive was needed. I offered ten dollars an hour, but only if the job was finished today. I remembered it took Bill and me almost a day to install half the number of sections at Henry’s. I also knew Polly had already bought spruce instead of cedar, and wouldn’t want to pay us for another partial day.<\/p>\n
That prompted Matthew to ask, “So dad, if you can pay us that much, how much are you making for this job?” I half lied, “I don’t know yet, I haven’t billed Polly.” <\/p>\n
I drove to Home Depot to hide from the heat and to buy concrete to fill our holes and when I returned, the boys were digging furiously. Four holes complete and another four well into the strata of rocks. That’s when Matt greeted me with, “Dad, we’ve decided to cut you out.”<\/p>\n
There you have it. The blue collar workers with white collar instincts, passed right by forming a union, straight to a hostile takeover. <\/p>\n
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 … Continue reading ![\"fence_sweat.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/mainecourse.com\/blog\/fence_backboys.jpg\")
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\nBoys drenched with sweat. For a better view of their excellent creation click on the photo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"