HARD LIVING ON PURPOSE

Hard living is something to avoid, most of the time.

I’ve heard it said at funerals: “They had a hard life.”

And it’s true, but is it avoidable?

What if your hard life came from the choices you make.

Drinking that booze, smoking that smoke, overeating like a pro.

What is there to say about a wheezing, fat, drunk?

They had a hard life, then it was over.

But that’s not your life and you’re not over.

So why not do some hard work for a remainder of what a hard life could be?

What do you consider hard work? Let’s compare.

I say building a fence is hard work, and here’s why: materials.

First you make a rough count on the posts, rails, and nails. Or screws.

Hard living is picking through racks and stacks of wood in a store to get the best choice.

Put the wood, and there’ll be more of it than you expect, on a wheeled cart for check out.

For a bigger fence, use two carts of wood.

Bring your truck around to move the wood from the carts. But wait, you don’t have a truck?

If you have a Toyota Highlander, put the seats down, stretch out the protective padding, and load up.

Maybe you have so much wood you need to make two trips?

Out here in Highlander country that means driving one home, pick up another, and hustle back for the second load.

We did it this way to avoid some hustler taking the second cart of paid-for-wood when the cashier wasn’t looking.

Load that second cart of wood into the second Highlander.

We did two trips to avoid breaking the suspension.

Once we got both car loads home, we packed out to the backyard.

Moving materials is part of hard living. Or you can get it all delivered.

 

Fence Building Family

My oldest child decided to take a week off work to get some things done before the weather changes.

Today will be in the high eighties for the benefit of hard living.

Yesterday we lugged all the wood from the store racks, to the carts, to the cars, to the yard.

Today we dig holes and pour cement and hopefully avoid Five Common Mistakes In Fence Building.

#1 is getting the ground checked for wires and pipes. We did that.

Hard living exercise is no reason to get electrocuted.

We will use levels and drills and shovels today. That’s the schedule.

If we get any boards on rails it will be a bonus. I think we will.

Before you get any other ideas, I’m not some fence building expert, not a wood working pro.

Neither is my kid, but we’re guys on a fence. What could go wrong?

I’ve hacked my way through a few projects over the years, so I’ll let that be my guide.

That and a few YouTube videos.

Once all the numbers and measurements add up to good, the rest of the fence building is repetitious monotony.

I’ve got nothing agains repetition or monotony, so we’ve got that going for us.

At this point the hard part of carting wood around is done.

So is the fun part of talking to customers at Home Depot.

 

The Home Depot Revenge

This exchange happened while I waited for the second Highlander.

 

#1

Customer: Do you work here?

Me: I like to think of myself as an honorary employee. How can I help you.

Customer: I’d like to leave my cart here while I pick up a fews small things.

Me: I will allow it.

Customer: What?

Me: Go ahead and leave your cart. That’s mine over there while I wait for a truck.

Customer: Will you watch my stuff?

Me: The cashier is watching mine with me. He can probably watch your’s too.

Customer: He’s watching and you’re watching?

Me: Yep. Already paid for and near an exit for anyone to snag if he gets busy.

#2

Me: Would you use nails or screws to build a fence.

Customer: I build my fences a little different than everyone else.

Me: (Uh oh)

Customer: The biggest mistake is not using stainless steel screws. Why? Because treated wood destroys other screw. Stainless, not so much.

Me: Can you buy them here?

Customer: Over in the fastener aisle. And get star screws, not Phillips. You’ll thank me later.

 

#3

Me: Have you used anything besides cement to anchor your fence posts?

Customer: One day, in one day, we put up 400 feet of fence using the pre-made panels and construction foam instead of cement.

Me: Foam? Okay.

Customer: It was a project I was glad to finish.

Me: And fast.

Customer: Fastest ever. And it looked good. You should try it.

 

Hard Living means doing things the hard way.

Two loads of wood? Check.

Plenty of hangers? Check.

Cement? Okay.

Beer? What?

Food? Shepard’s Pie. (Hey Mandy)

A homeowner? Check. And it’s a homeowner close to my heart. I know two of them. (Hello boys)

Work hard for a better life; sometimes it takes hard living.

And sometimes you’re just the person for the job.