I enjoyed speaking to the Bitterroot Builders Association tonight. The building industry holds many fond memories for me. Mom and Dad were married 14 years before I was born. Although Daddy wanted a boy, he loved to dress his lil girl up in bib overalls, pack her with him to the job sights and teach her stuff. He named his business Nick Manzella and Daughter, General Construction. I loved the job sites. The sights and sounds of work in progress...the high pitched squeal of a skill saw ripping through lumber and the smell of saw dust after....the ring and rhythm of a hammer landing solid on a nail head and the echo it makes as it sinks into the board, usually in four strong, strokes. Team work between blue collar men, with strong arms and rough hands, working together like a well oiled machine. I was just a squirt...a worthless liability on the job site when he started taking me, but before long I knew where I needed to be when holding the dumb end of the tape measure. And then he started having me hold the smart end of the tape measure and learn fractions. Then I learned how a magic combination of the number 3, 4, 5, can be used to square a building. Next I learned to put up batter boards and pull string lines, and set a grade. And then came concrete. I LIKE concrete! Its fast! Hard, physical work, and you better know what youre doing because you dont get second chances with concrete. I remember leaning to edge. That was easy. A monkey could do a good job if the mud was right. When I got big enough, I got my own lil boots and learned to pull, place and juke. Learning to float was like making a cake. To this day, I think Im a better floater than a cake baker. lol Never did master bull floating. Eventually, after years of watching, I was allowed to finish on kneeboards. I still remember how my forearms ached at the end of day. Whew...you know you worked when you pour and finish concrete. And I was in my glory when I got to lay bricks with dad and be his mortar man, trusted to know just how he liked his slump...THEN I was an asset to the team. Before too long he was teaching me to write materials lists and read profit and loss statements. It might not have been the kind of childhood that little girls dream of, but I loved it. Wouldnt change it for the world. I loved being with my dad and appreciate that he loved me enough to invest in me and teach me stuff, even though I wasnt a boy. Those skills I learned early in life have served me well in the property developments Ive managed and in the building of my own place. When builders are building, progress is being made. Dreams are coming true for excited buyers, needs are being met and futures are being planned. People are making money, and therefore people are spending money. The capitalistic building industry represents a perpetual, win/win, circle in a healthy economy. When the builders are winning, were all winning. WINNING! Lets get back to WINNING!
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 04:49:04 +0000
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