The Contractors At Work Today

When I arrived home, they were not there, yet. As late as two o'clock, when my wife came in, they still had not showed up. So, by the time I went to the street to retrieve the garbage can, between three and four, I was somewhat surprised that the contractors my neighbor had hired were finally on the job. A big white van, aclutter with ladders of varying sizes, filled the drive, and the blue tarp was off. I surmised they had calculated a quick strike: Do a slam bam repair for the little Japanese woman, grab a check from her grateful hands, and be off. He he. They did not know Noriko, or they almost certainly would have arrived early enough to deal with her, while delivering a perfect, in her judgement, repair.

My wife and I had a chuckle over the sight of Noriko, perched atop the roof, while three carpenters labored under her watchful eye. I could imagine her inquiring, "You are going to remove board before putting the new one?"

I have known my neighbor for about a dozen years. She is astute, resourceful, tough. When she comments on my efforts on this side of the fence, she criticizes indirectly. After I built a shed addition on the one already in the back yard, she did not speak of it at all. Still, a f ew days later, she told me, "Mike (her late husband) told me that putting even treated posts in the ground for building construction was wasted effort."

The few times I did her a few odd projects, she remained at my elbow, explaining exactly how I would do it.

I don't know how far those carpenters got today. I hope they are men of patience.