[104] Screed City
[104]
02/24/2022 Thursday. Kitchen Microwave. Beaver Haus. Lower Granville, Vermont.
Snow day tomorrow. So I hauled ass back to Vermont. No Professor Curly though. She declared a snow day too, so she hauled ass to New Ham. Ships in the stream as the bridesmaids say. Islands in the night. Rivers at night make me angry.
I mean, today went much better than I ever thought it would go. In a kind of ironic way. I mean, poor Scott, all those months ago. Him and Squirts loading those connex at night in a snow storm? Or was it rain? Either way, not fun. Not good. Squirts is a menace to work with. What he lacks in knowledge he makes up for in idiocy and laziness. I mean, I don't have the bandwidth as the bridesmaids say to explain how fucked up the load-in was. I mean, all I can say is that it sucked and I am glad I wasn't there. I mean, if I can see as far as I can it is because I have made my living off the backs of poor suckers that have to work with Squirts at night in the rain. I mean, shit. The amount of Scott had to take off of that truck and bring down to the shipping containers. I mean, I would have cried or quit or both. I don't think I could have done it. I really don't. I mean, I wouldn't. I mean, my motto: Give up first. The solution will present itself. In that case the solution would be a resounding fuck you to everyone involved. Get someone else to do it. You don't pay me enough and nothing in the world is so important that I have to suffer for the sins of man just to get some pipes into a shipping container for a job that is already months behind, if not years. I mean, work is work. I can agree to that. But there are boundaries. And when they are crossed, I mean, I am too old for this shit.
But today went great! I mean, in the sense that it went well and nobody got hurt. I mean, I almost yelled at Sally and Allan. I mean, the amount of whining they did about moving the steel. I mean, to me that is more painful than lifting things that hurt my body. The whining. Just do the job. Or don't. But do me a favor, shut the fuck up about how hard it is and how you hate it so much. I mean, I just spent 300 words complaining about hard work. But that work wasn't so much hard as it was nearly impossible and frankly, un-necessary. I mean, the work we did today. Moving 44 pipe sets. Four pallets of stage weight. One roll of wire rope. A few other pipes and some track. I mean, sure it was heavy. Sure it was cold. And sure it was annoying, but so what? I mean, whatever. Those guys, my boobs, they are all over 50 years old. Sally has one hand smaller than the other. Allan is a part-time drunk who is over-weight and soft from time-off. I mean, I hate to say it, but the medal for best worker goes to the super-racist guy, Billy.
I mean, he is just racist. Hands down. There is no way around it. No way to mis-interpret it. I mean, he said something today that proved it clear and simple. There was some talk about this other guy that somebody from the other crew knows and Billy said:
"The guy with a Black boss." Meaning, I don't know what he meant. I mean, I know it was an affront to him, somehow. Like the racist dicks out in Wyoming. Having a Black boss is the most shameful and humiliating thing he can think of. I mean, once again, how the fuck do you combat that? I mean, if he said the N-word it would be different. But he just skirts the line and there is nobody who has an color on their skin that can speak up and say something. Like, "Dude, you're racist. Knock it off." I mean, I can say something, sure. Like "Hey, that sounds racist, you should stop it." But how far would that get me? He didn't "Say" anything that could be construed as racist. Just pointing out that somebody is Black isn't necessarily racist. But he certainly meant it racist. I doubt he would deny it. I mean, I learned to day he lives in Massa-chutes-hass. When I heard that, something just kind of clicked into place. Like, of course he does. I mean, none of the workers I have met actually like living in New York. And the subtext is Black people. And for him to actually live in Wonder Bread, USA, I mean, I live in Vermont which is crusty Wonder Bread, USA, but not because it is mostly White. I mean, the biggest criticism I have about Vermont is that it is so White. Like glaringly White. Like fucked up that it is so very White. I mean, that will change. Eventually, but for now, I mean, I guess we just wait? I mean, there are going to be refugees of sorts coming up here soon enough. I mean, I say that like I mean it. But I don't mean it in that way. I mean, soon and for a long time Vermont is going to be a place for people to get out of the Cities and into the country where they will be welcome. I mean, Massa-chutes-hass won't be that place. Nor Connecticut. I mean, UpState New York? They fly the Confederate flag. Maine has a few places. Portland mostly. I mean, I feel like I could have avoided this disclaimer by not saying the word refugee, but I mean it in the sense that the nature of the racist Right is to make life intolerable in the cities for everyone living there and that some people will want to get free of that. And since we have such a long history of preventing people of color from joining Society outside of cities, I mean, the only way you can really look at that sort of migration is through the lens of humans leaving strife in order to find peace. Which, I mean, saying it that way also spreads the myth that cities are toxic, which they are not. They are just specifically more toxic for non-Whites than they are for Whites. I mean, cities are expensive. We, meaning White people, have spent 256 years making life unbearable for un-White Americans, I mean, at some point something has to finally give. And it started happening in 2020, but then the Racist Right shit their pants and decided to make the KKK a National Brand so, I mean, maybe I am right to use the word refugee. I just don't want to project something or diminish the suffering of some Americans just by using aggressive terminology. I mean, I guess my point is, don't move to Massa-chutes-hass if you need to leave the City. Come to Vermont instead. We might be misguided, but we have big hearts. Even if we are all grumpy White assholes.
I mean, racism aside, we did a good job today. We moved all the shit from the second connex to the stage. That took all morning. It could have easily taken two days. I mean, without the LULL we would have suffered badly. We would have had to get the Box Truck. Loaded the shit into the Box Truck. Backed the Box Truck up to the stage door and unloaded the Box Truck. I mean, it would have sucked. Instead we threw down a few sticks of dunnage. Made three piles of doubler pipes. Had Randy drive the LULL over. He picked them up. One stack at a time. Then we slowly drove them to the stage door. Where he put them down on the stage. On other dunnage. And then we stacked the doublers next to the upstage wall. I mean, it couldn't have gone better. I mean, as we were walking to the connex I remembered that I forgot the webbing and my Future Abes. My ear muffs. Which, I mean, now that I have to wear a hard hat all the time they act more like a football helmet. The "U" on my chin. Or over my mouth. I mean, I wonder what these guys think of me sometimes. The boobs. I mean, my hard hat held on by a shoe-string. Wearing ear muffs like a field goal kicker. I mean, I must look like an idiot. But so what? They have to listen to me. So that must be frustrating. I mean, I control their paycheck in some sort of way. So I can laugh about it. But then when I got to the connex I yelled very loudly:
"Okay, relax! We got a guy in charge here now! What is going on?" I mean, Billy had already put the webbing that Randy had supplied around the first stack of doublers. In fact, Randy was in the process of lifting the things off the dunnage. I mean, nobody laughed at my joke aside from Randy. Who, I mean, I like Randy, in a sense. He is in way over his head but he doesn't know it. I mean, he has eyes like my dad's. I mean, maybe he does know he is in over his head and he likes it. I mean, hold on, I am getting ahead of myself.
So I made my foreman joke. That is another thing. I didn't think Randy would be there so soon. I thought we would be waiting around all morning until he came around with the LULL. But he was already there. I mean, I brought my coffee with me. Thinking there was going to be some down-time. There was no down-time. I said to Sally, after my joke fell flat:
"See! I brought my foreman juice." She just looked at me like I was an idiot. But whatever. Billy was doing quite a good job getting the doublers moving. I really didn't need to be there. Sally and Allan were visibly frustrated. Because it was work. Randy was laughing at my jokes. Billy was ignoring me. I mean, that first set of doublers went up to the stage door without a hitch. I ran ahead and made sure there was a place to land the things. After a while the rest of the boobs showed up. Randy landed the doublers on the dunnage. We took the span-sets off of the forks. He backed the LULL out. Billy followed him back to the connex. Me and Sally and Allan spent the next little while repositioning the doublers next to the upstage wall. Then we just kind of stood around waiting for the next installment. I mean, it was kind of odd to not have to micro-manage Billy. He knew what he was doing. I mean, for that I was grateful.
After a while the second installment came in. We did the same stuff. Then Randy had to take a shit. Then Billy had to take a shit. By the time they were done shitting I had to follow the LULL back down to the connex because the curtain track needed to get on the next delivery. I mean, it was a two-person job. I walked down with the LULL and Billy. We got everything and took it back to the stage door. Landed it. Unloaded it. It was break-time, so we took a break. I mean, I kind of wanted to finish everything first, but since break and unions I let it happen.
After break Randy never came back. I could see him floating around doing stuff. I didn't understand why he wasn't helping us anymore. I asked Billy about it, he didn't know. I asked Sally, she didn't know. They gave me some advice. They said:
"You have to go ask him."
I mean, I had no problem asking Randy about finishing the thing he started, I was just confused about why he had stopped in the first place. I mean, I kind of just stood around hoping that he had just gotten distracted and he would be back soon enough. But he never came back. I finally decided to go ask him what was up. When I got to him he was explaining some welding stuff to this other guy that I kind of like. I don't know his name, but he seems smart. Either way, I said to Randy:
"Hey, question. We have these stage weights that need to be moved. Is it possible to get the LULL and move them at some point?"
"When do you need them moved?"
"I mean, right now. But, whatever, today at some point."
"Yeah, sure. I can come around at some point."
I was even more confused. I really didn't understand why he stopped helping us. I mean, I just thought it was Union-Speak for "You didn't fulfill your side of the agreement. Until that happens, you are fucked." I went back to the boobs that were standing on the stage waiting for me to tell them something. There was nothing to tell them aside for "Randy will be around at some point. I guess just stay ready." Sally went outside to smoke. Allan stood looking at stuff. Wondering about his paycheck. Billy plotted the Anschluss of the Rhineland. I mean, there was nothing to do.
After a while Sally came back. I mean, she is the liaison so I asked her directly "What do you think? How do we get Randy to come back?"
"Just ask him. What is the worst he can say, no?"
"Yeah, but. You know what I mean. I can't just go over there and act impatient. It will look like I am..."
"I don't know what to say, Joe-John, you just have to ask him."
At that point I realized what was happening. I don't know why. Something in the way that Sally said what she said. I mean, I realized that Randy was the main guy in charge. Because both of his bosses had covid. He had more things to do than normal. I mean, he would have stuck around and finished the job he started he quite literally got distracted because he went on break and forgot all about us. I mean, I knew that Billy had a LULL license. I went upstairs looking for Randy. To ask if we could drive the LULL without him. He was nowhere to be found. I finally found him outside. Coming back from somewhere that I didn't understand. I said:
"Hey Randy, I forgot you were the head honcho." The look on his face. I mean, he was quite proud. I mean, I wanted to say that he was the Nancy Pelosi of the job site. That Biden and Harris had been assassinated and that meant he was president. But I kept my mouth shut. He said:
"Yeah, for a couple of days at least."
"I mean, hey, Billy has a LULL license, we got these stage weights that need to be moved. Can he run the LULL? I mean, it will take like 20 minutes." He didn't seem so impressed with himself anymore. I think he was hoping I would, I don't know, ask him if we should start a petition for him being the Main Boss of the Job Site for eternity? I mean, I really don't know why this question bummed him out. He said:
"Yeah, sure. That is fine." Then he frowned and walked away.
I went back to the stage. The boobs were still there. Gawking at shit. I said to Billy "Do you mind driving the LULL? Randy gave us permission." He looked at me with his bright Aryan eyes and said:
"Yeah, sure. If that is what you want to do."
I mean, these assholes. I try to make decisions with them. To make sure the politics are correct. And every time they just say "Sure, if that is what you want to do. You are the boss." I mean, I don't know what game they are playing. I mean, Sally, who is the liaison, she is straight with me. But she does it too. "Sure, boss, whatever you want to do."
I don't want to do anything! I just want to get this work moving forward. I don't care if you have to take a three hour lunch and then get a hot stone massage. I really don't. Your vague answers to my very direct questions are infuriating! I mean, I want to do the job! Yes! That is what I want to do. I am just asking if that is okay. With you. With the Union. You know I can't stir the pot. That I won't stir the pot. I mean, I know that they are fucking with me, so it if kind of funny. I mean, I will get one over on them in the end. I know I will. I just don't think they understand that yet. I mean, I think it is a game they are playing. And they don't know that I am many steps ahead of them. I mean, if they think they can slow-roll me I can slow-roll them back in a way that they don't even know that they are working themselves out of work. I mean, if the boobs were smart they would get really stupid really fast. But these idiots are too smart for their own good. I mean, this job could have easily gone on for a couple extra weeks, but they keep pushing me in the right direction, unbeknownst to themselves. I mean, they inadvertently took a two day job and compressed it into almost half a day just by forcing me to take charge. I mean, either they saw some sort of weakness in me that they employed or they took my indifference as a sign of incompetence, either way, it worked out really good for me, not so good for them. I mean, I would love to just drag this job out until Jesus comes back, but I won't. I can't. Because I actually don't enjoy working on a racist forever job. I mean, I have other shit to do. And as much as I like the money, the less time I am in Albany the better.
I mean, Billy and I went down to the LULL. He got into it. I noticed he didn't put the seatbelt on. Which, I mean, the OSHA 10. I mean, every part of today was a tragic question on the OSHA 10 exam. I mean, yikes. I don't get how nobody dies every day at work. Because things are constantly gnarly.
I mean, we went down to the connex. Brought up two pallets of stage weight. Brought them back to the stage. Dropped them off. Went back. Got the other two pallets. Plus the roll of wire rope. Brought everything back to the stage. A few things happened. Then we took lunch.
I went down to the taco store and got a burrito. The tiny kids that hang out there are very cute. I mean, the very smallest little girl brought over some garlic knots and put them on my table in order to share them with me. I mean, she is maybe three? Doesn't speak English so it is funny to try and talk to her. Because she gets very confused. And her mom is in the back. Coming over every now and again to try and lure her away. But then she comes back. And I try to talk to her. The little kid. I mean, she is a baby basically. I mean, it just reminds me of G. But I digress. I ate a steak burrito. With chips and green sauce. I paid. Left. Walked back to the job site. Called Professor Curly. She was with her sister. In New Ham. We talked about Bob Saget and conspiracy nonsense. I mean, the fucking internet. I mean, I had to cut the conversation short. I got back to the stage. Me and the boobs talked about the stage weights for a few. I told them what was going to happen. I was hoping that Sally and Allan would stay on the deck and feed Billy the stage weights in the scissors lift and I would be up in the loading bridge stacking the weights as they came up. But Sally insisted on coming up with me. Which, I mean, fucking Sally. She is both old and un-bendy. The amount of effort it took to get her over the rail of the scissors lift and the rail of the loading bridge. I mean, she had some idea about how to make things easier with motor lifts. With respect to the doublers. How we could have put a chain motor in the middle of the stage and just lifted the whole stack and positioned it without having to lift a finger. I mean, I listened to her ideas, but they were crap. Not because she was wrong, but because the amount of time and thought that would go into this idea was pointless. The doublers would have to be moved no matter what. And spending the time to fix that was pointless. But I am always open to new ideas. That is why I am a great foreman.
I mean, as we were getting her over the rail and onto the loading bridge I said"
"You know, Sally, we should have set the chain hoists up so we could hook you up and crank you over the edge here. That would have saved us some time."
"Oh, shut up." She said. I mean, she kind of has the same sensibilities of PegLeg in those moments. I mean, I hate to say it, but I am very endeared to Sally. She might complain more than necessary, but I think that this work is kind of the only thing she has in her life. Which is noble in a sense. I mean, I don't hold it against her. I mean, she does have sympathy for the human condition. Even if it comes out in weird ways. I mean, I did learn that she is vaxxed. And that Billy's grandchildren are vaxxed. That she might not get the fourth booster if it comes along because that is just too much, but Billy is into the vaxx as well. I mean, there is a very good possibility that these assholes might not be the total assholes that I think that they are. I mean, the politics might have simmered down a little bit. That maybe, just maybe, freedems versus the safety of all Americans might weigh-out against the facist propaganda coming from the Racist Right. I mean, it's complicated as Jayboo would say. But maybe it isn't. Maybe watching human suffering for no good reason out-weighs a moment of paranoia. I mean? It is possible. I mean, nobody wants the Government to have total control, but a temporary doctrine that can save countless lives and suffering, I mean, right? I mean, if even the Himmler of Iron Workers is okay with getting a vaxx for his grandchildren? That is saying something. I mean, Sally is just looking out for herself. Her sister got covid very bad. She is still fucked up from it. Nearly a year later. I mean, science is science. I mean, however, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. Why make everything so fucking exhausting?
Either way. We loaded all the stage weight onto the load bridge. It took a couple hours. We had to remove the Unistrut OSHA planks system we had set up there to do the knee wall system. I mean, I don't know if we need to put that back at some point. I know there is a horiz-bar as the Big Boss called it that still needs to be installed. But that is going to mean that we get some flat stock and cut chunks in eight inch sections and drill holes if we are going to do it at all. I mean, I don't know the ANSI standard on that. I will have to ask Scott if it needs to happen or not. I mean, I don't know where to get the information. I mean, I know that we dropped the anchors for it. And it is ready to go. And we have the horiz-bars. But still. I mean, it is a funny addition to the thing. I mean, not funny HAHA, but funny, like, we will need to do it on Monday or whatever, before we start running wire rope. I mean, there must be a reason why there is two horiz-bars at the top of the J wall and I don't see a reason to ignore that. But that will very much mean having some flat stock delivered and poor Allan will probably break his wrist again drilling the holes. Not to mention I will have to go back to the Home Depot. I mean, that is a Monday problem.
I mean, we took all the OSHA planks down so we could load all the stage weight onto the load bridge. The whole thing took a couple of hours. It was loud and unpleasant. I wore my hearing protection. Sally thought it was so loud that she got some ear plugs from Allan. Who was down on the deck, putting stage weight into the scissors lift, that Billy was bringing up to me and Sally. I mean, Sally smoked the whole time. Griped and groaned. Billy was in good spirits. That racist fucker. I mean, I don't know what makes him so happy. I mean, I am okay that he isn't miserable like the other two boobs, but I don't get it. He must have some songs going through his head. Like the Hors Wessel theme or something. I mean, he is doing just fine. He doesn't seem angry or dispossessed. He is just pure racist. I find it very odd. I mean, I kind of want to know what is in his heart. Because I find him very odd. I wonder if I can get Jony on this job somehow. I mean, if that isn't racist itself just by mentioning it. I mean, where does his hatred come from? I mean, it is not funny. It is pure and deep. And scary. And I mean, if he was one of the guys that had the tiff with Harold, I mean, I remember seeing Billy around before he came to work for BMI, I mean, his competence is something special, comparatively, I mean, especially compared to Allan, I mean, I have to fill out paper-work tomorrow with respect to Allan. His wrist thing. And, I mean, Sally has her very specific alacrity that is very helpful. And the more I know her, the less racist she seems. But still, I mean, the fact that Billy is still around. I mean, it goes back to the thing I said about people that upset about not being in charge when they feel that they should be in charge. I mean, the ONLY thing that Billy has going against him is his racism. And that is crazy. Why not just not be racist? I mean, he must really, really want to be racist. That is nuts.
I mean, I called a snow day tomorrow. It is supposed to snow like 18 inches. I had some plan to stay at the hotel and have the boobs text me in the morning, but by the time that they would wake up and hours of snow, I mean, I would have been stuck in Albany until Saturday. And then what? I stay over the weekend? I mean, we loaded the stage weights onto the load bridge. Eight inches in height. Then I sent the boobs home early. Had them sign the paper-work. The work hours. I mean, I still have to fill out an accident report for Allan and his shitty drill-work that led him to being too hungover to come to work on Wednesday. Butwhatever. I won't hold that against him. I mean, the Big Boss is worried about getting the grief from a work-site accident claim. I mean, I can't hold that against him. Such is life. I suppose. I mean, Allan did hurt his wrist. It was his own fault. But still. If anyone asks me, I will be on his side, not BMI's side, I mean, mostly because it didn't need to happen. Even if it was caused by idiot moves. Butwhatever. I mean, Allan is scared of heights. And as the Big Boss asked:
"What iron worker is afraid of heights?" To which I said:
"More than you think."