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Howdy Folks,
Being a construction foreman for many years was a lesson in human behavior. Let me tell you about Charlie.
Charlie was fresh out of Viet Nam when he came to work for me. His only clothes were his uniform and combat boots, which he wore to work every day,
We were building a shopping center in the Winter and mud was deep everywhere and deeper in some places. Charlie never walked around mud holes, he walked through them. He walked through or over whatever stood between him and his destination.
At the end of the day, his pants were wet to his knees and his boots covered with mud. He arrived the next morning with the same clothes and muddy boots. This went on day after day.
He also worked part time for the city on the trash pickup truck. This was his source of clothes and shoes. When he saw either clothes or shoes in the trash can he was picking up, he would immediately change on the spot.
He operated on the theory that if he could get it on and it didn’t fall off~~ it fit.
Eventually, I took time off the job to find a yard sale and buy him some clothes.
Charlie also traded cars in the same manner. If the one he was driving stopped running, he bought the first one he found and could afford. He simply took the tags off the one that didn’t run and put them on the one that did. He went through several cars with the same tags. With enough mud on the tags to obscure the date, the tags would last for years.
Now it wasn’t that he had no money, because I paid him well. It's just that there were more important things in his life than stylish clothes and shiny cars.
You see, Charlie was an investor. Each Friday when he cashed his check, he would immediately invest his earnings ~~~ in liquid assets~~~ at the local bar.
He was so well respected there that he had his own private table and there would be a pitcher of beer waiting for him as soon as the bartender saw him drive into the parking lot.
Then on Monday he would not have lunch money ~~so out of necessity, I became his financial institution.
His honesty was a goal to be admired by the finest politicians, On Friday afternoon when I handed him his check he literally ran to the nearby bank to get it cashed and ran back to pay me.
I never charged him interest and he never failed to pay his debts. He traveled with me from one job to the other over the Southeast and the pattern never changed in the years we worked together,
His holding capacity for beer was beyond logic. We were working in Georgia and I found a good ' all you can eat buffet' where I would dine after work.
Invited Charlie to go with me and told him I was buying. He hesitated because that would delay his drinking time.
He knew I didn’t drink and being respectful, didn’t want to drink in my truck. I assured him it was ok that I didn’t want to deprive him of his enjoyment. He was most grateful and if memory is correct, he consumed 12 cans of beer on the short drive to the restaurant. Immediately after eating he went to the bar to drink more seriously.
His drinking never interfered with his work and his work never interfered with his drinking. He handled both well.
While cutting firewood this week, was thinking of Charlie and comparing him to a totally different group of folks who are concerned about a variety of problems.
So many people seem to worry about what other people think of them~~ about their clothes, type of house they have, manner of speaking, the kind of car they drive, their education, religious affiliation, and an endless list of other things to worry about.
People tell me they worry about a variety of health problems that might happen, accidents that might happen, and getting old. To the last one, I tell them to consider the alternative.
When we worry, we put our energy toward what we DON’T want and what we fear ~~~and usually create it.
Charlie never had those problems.
Spring is here on the top half of the world and Fall on the bottom half. Wherever you are ~~~ enjoy it
Raymon
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