Holy cow !!...No.....It's a Bull !!

Funny what life has in store for us....

About ten years ago I worked for a small builder who built only modular homes. He was actually a very nice person, and he was a great guy to work for.....until he died. The story of his death will be another post, because as it was a tragic thing to happen, there is a very funny story around it.


He was the kind of builder who would hang around the job site, even though there was nothing for him to do. He was very particular on the accuracy of all the work. You see a modular home is built in a factory and therefore the foundation MUST be square and level. The reason for this (even though it should be square and level all of the time) is because when the house is delivered....it's a completed house, and they come with a crew and a huge crane to set this house. There is only one chance to make this house fit, or the builder gets to pay huge amounts of money to keep them there until the foundation is repaired, or if the foundation is that bad, they have to come back.

There was one time that I left the job at the end of the day, and I was about five minutes away, and I realized that I had forgotten my lunch pail in which I kept my wallet, so I turned around and headed back to the job site. As I pulled up to the house, there was the builder checking my work. I admit I was a bit offended because I prided myself in the perfection of my work. I did give him some heat about this, but really, I understood.

The house was located almost an hour from me, in the heart of farm country.....and...Yes.....we have farms in New Jersey! 

So, as the project proceeded, and the house was set, and the electrician and plumbers made their connections, and the home was just about completed, we found that the builder had passed away. He was found laying on another site that he was building a house on, laying next to the half finished foundation. This was not a good thing for the obvious reasons, but he owed me quite a bit of money, which I never saw a dime of.

The house before....PLAIN

After about a month, I got a call from the people who bought the house and they asked if I would finish the work, and they would pay me out of their pockets. They were desperate to move in and I was happy to be able to get back at least some of the money that I lost. I did the work for them, and they were happy. It was a nice house....architecturally simple, but nice.

The owners stayed in touch over the years, and every once in a while they would call me to do something or other for them.
Fast forward to two years ago....


Then one day, I got a call from the homeowner, Nancy who wanted to put an addition on her home, and pretty much just add some character to it. I of course was happy to oblige. It was a great feeling that she thought of me fondly enough to do this work for her. I priced it, and after very little negotiation, we started the work. We got started with the excavation, and the footings went in. The work was moving along quite nicely considering that working on a modular home is a lot more difficult that working on a home that was built on site.We got it to a point where we were almost finished and it came time to build the massive front porch.

The same house....can you believe it!

That day was such a beautiful day to work outside. 

 

The sun was so bright and the smell of the country was so overwhelmingly hypnotic. These kind of days remind me of how much I love doing this kind of work. So this particular day we had to lay the block for the porch. I was working in the trench, just about up to my hips, and it was really hard to move around.


The helper I had with me was a good guy, but for some reason, he would talk to himself, or just grunt every now and then. At this moment he was mixing cement in my cement mixer which was just out of my site. I could hear the engine, but for me it was just background noise.  All of a sudden I hear this grunting noise......I kinda ignored it, as I figured it was just my man doing his grunt thing. Then I heard it again......and again....Now my curiosity got the best of me, and in a joking manner yelled to him, "Geez.....what the heck are you grunting for now?" 


I tried to look towards the front of the house to see if he was there, but being in that trench, it was just too difficult. Then I hear the grunt again....but louder...."What the heck is wrong with you man??" Just as I said this my helper walked around the front towards me and asked "did you want me? I couldn't hear you because the mixer was running"  I asked him why he was making those crazy grunting noises, and he should be thankful that the homeowner wasn't around. "What are you talking about....I'm not grunting, you must be hearing things" I replied...."Whatever!"


 Then as I started to look away to resume my work, I noticed out of the corner of my eye....his face contorted.......a look of horror came over his face and he started running away, and said something weird. I wasn't sure of what he said but I thought this was one of the funniest things I have ever seen, and laughed out loud. I struggled to turn around in the trench, and no more than ten feet from my face was a giant BULL!!! He snorted at me, while looking straight in my eyes. I panicked, and tried to get out of that trench, but the harder I tried, the more I fell into it. I'm sure that the bull was amused. I remember thinking how lucky I was for not wearing a red shirt that day.....

Not the same bull....For illustration purposes!

Just as I made it out of the trench, there was about ten people running towards the house from behind the bull. "Don't make any sudden moves!" yells one of the men.....SURE!!! TOO LATE! I was out of the trench, and stepping backwards away from the bull as he kept close watch on me. As I turned to run, he lurched towards me, and I guess it was a lucky break, but I fell flat on my face.....back in the trench.


The bull posse chased that bull all over the neighborhood for about two hours, running on foot and riding four wheelers. Sadly (for the bull) he was finally cornered, by the farmer, and they shot him....in the neighbor's backyard........and that's no BULL!

TIP OF THE DAY:

Speaking of Bulls.......

A Bull Float!

If you want to install maybe a small patio or sidewalk yourself, here are a few tips of the trade.  First you need to form out the area with lumber, usually 2" x 4" lumber, making sure that it's square and level. Purchase the "ready mix" concrete from your local home improvement center. There is a part on the back of the bag that will show you how to figure the amount of bags you will need. Get your bags home, and mix up the concrete, I would suggest mixing two bags at a time....at the most. Mix it to the instructions on the bag. Pour your now mixed concrete into your forms.....level it out, and mix more until you fill the forms to the top. Making sure that you purchase more than you might need (you can always take the extra back for a refund) tamp it down with the flat end of a steel rake. Now use a BULL -float to put your first finish on the concrete....these can be rented at your local rental store. Let it harden to the point that when you touch it, you can just about leave an indent with the tip of your finger. Now take a dampened sponge, and with a light circular motion add the final touches to your work of art. Make sure to clean your tools, because if you don't you will run into a ton of Bull when you return it to the rental store!

See you next time......from beyond.........