I swear that I have stories from my 25 years in business!
But since I started this blog, I have had the opportunity to go back in my mind and remember all of the funny things (well at least I thought they were funny) that happened while I worked with my Dad. There are so many stories to be told like how my Dad almost burned down a brand new home, just days away from closing, and the time that my cousin told me to put the pulley rope around my waist as he would pull me down from the 35 foot scaffold that I was on, and the one where my cousin and I (about the same age) were filling water drums up and he pulled the emergency brake and the truck rolled into the woods (I got the blame for this one)......But then there was Uncle Paul. I could write a whole chapter just on him! Again, I was just a kid, and again it was summer.....fade......
My Dad got a job to replace a very old and dangerously cracked chimney. This job was for the old lady of Johnson & Johnson fame. The farm she lived on was enormous and I instantly fell in love with the sights of this farm. There were horses, and fields of fruit trees, and the house itself was surrounded by the most beautiful flowers, most of which I have never seen.
My Dad drove alone and I with Uncle Paul.The old Woman came out to talk to him about her concerns. She took an instant liking to me, and asked me if I wanted to take a tour of the property with her. My Dad said it was fine, and the woman started up her golf cart, told me to jump on, and we took off to see the farm.
We were gone about fifteen minutes and when we got back the woman scrunched her face, and yelled to my Dad, who was on the roof....
"Please be careful taking that chimney down, I don't want anything happening to my greenhouse because that's where I keep all of my award winning exotic plants!"
You see, the greenhouse was just a couple of feet away from where the chimney was, as a matter of fact it was attached to the house. My Dad gave her a smile and replied "Don't worry Hon, we will be very careful not to hurt anything" She thanked him and walked into the house, after giving me a few peaches that she picked during our trip.
Uncle Paul climbed up on the roof, and started hitting the chimney with his hammer , and tearing it down brick by brick. As he would knock a brick loose, he would carefully grab it, as not to have it tumble into the greenhouse, and he would toss it down to me, and I would toss it onto the back of the truck.
This went on for about two hours.
He really wasn't getting that far with the demo, even though it looked like a strong wind would topple that chimney over. He called to me to give him the small sledge hammer.....I complied, but I warned,
" Isn't that dangerous Uncle Paul? What if the chimney falls over?"
He scoffed " This chimney ISN'T going to fall over my young nephew, I can't even break it apart!"
The sledge hammer was not working either. I was really not aware of this because I was taking in the beautiful surroundings. I was startled by a hand on my shoulder.....It was the old woman. She offered us something to drink, and we accepted her generous offer. She explained to me that she was going to town to get some fertilizer for her plants, but she would be back soon. She again pleaded to be careful while working on the roof, I of course said "why of course!". Uncle Paul worked his way down to the ground, and we sat on the tailgate of the truck drinking iced tea. It was the most delicious iced tea ever, and I thought how wonderful it would be to live there and eat peaches and drink iced tea, while riding one of those beautiful horses.
Just then Uncle Paul gets into the cab of the truck, turns it around, and backs up to the house.
I had no idea what he was up to......maybe eliminating my job? He reached into the tool box and pulled out a heavy rope. I still was kinda lost with this. He climbed onto the roof, tied the rope around the chimney several times, and threw the slack onto the ground. I was in shock....
"Are you kidding me Uncle Paul? I don't think that's a good idea" He pretty much told me he didn't care about my concerns and proceeded to tie the rope to the tow hitch on the truck. I swear I thought he was just messing around, like he usually does.
He told me to stand back as he started up the truck. He started the truck, and with a jerk the truck lunged forward, but in a stone driveway it didn't get too far. Stone was flying from the rear tires, and the truck was not going anywhere. The chimney didn't budge an inch......yet.
Sadly for Uncle Paul it did not come down the way he thought it would......It kind of spun a little, tipped to the side, and SMASHED into the greenhouse roof!! the sound of glass breaking seemed last forever. He got out of the truck and grabbed me and made me swear that the chimney just fell on it's own.....He was almost in tears, so I told him that I wouldn't say a word.....Unbeknownst to the both of us, across the field was a man shoeing horses, who saw the whole thing....Needless to say, we were kicked off the job, and my Dad had to pay for the damage. I know this because he never let Uncle Paul live that one down!
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