All in order in this corner of my world
The hammer felt good in my hands, satisfying and simple, the battered leather tool belt snug but still doing its job of keeping pencil, nail punch, tape measure, chisel, utility knife, speed square and numerous nails and screws at arm’s length. It was a spring day in the mountains, everything around blooming and sweet smelling, wildly colorful butterflies swirling about on a canvas of sky blue.
A home project that has been challenging was getting closer to completion. War, politics and all the other chaos of the world retreated from my mind as I made sure the scaffolding would provide space enough to work and bear the weight of the crew and the huge windows we were about to install. No broken bones on my job site.
Some of the most satisfying work years of my life were spent building things. My time as a framing carpenter lasted only four full years, from the time I was 24 until I turned 28, but I had spent many previous summers working construction as a laborer. My father built and fixed things, could take apart and fix televisions and radios and work on cars. His tinkering, fixing and building things always fascinated and impressed me, and it wasn’t until many years later that I realized those genes had been passed along. Those genes and four years building houses and apartment buildings have inspired me to take on countless projects over the years, as has the imagination of my wife, Lori.
The crew that came to help with the windows was an interesting mix, friends whom many who read this column may know: Kyle, a fantastic reporter and also news editor here at The Smoky Mountain News, Navy veteran and graduate of Columbia University in New York City; Garret, Quinnipiac grad, A&E editor at SMN, Rolling Stone contributor and unparalleled music afficionado; and Ian, Virginia Tech graduate, musician extraordinaire, software coder and good friend who recently sold his company and entered into a very active retired life.
Before we started on the windows and to compel them to come to our mountain house to do some heavy lifting, I had promised everyone that Lori would make good coffee drinks and some of her hearty breakfast sandwiches. As we sat around the kitchen island drinking coffee and eating, the conversation wandered from the project at hand to what’s going on with AI and where will it lead and then to music in general and the Asheville music scene and the new venues currently being built or planned. Great conversation with some smart guys.
As we talked, I thought back to my years on construction sites and how so much of America knows almost nothing about the blue-collar tradespeople that spend their entire lives doing this kind of work. Generally, I think much of the white-collar world looks down on the trades and would never encourage their children to pursue such a career. I think back to PhDs who found their calling driving nails, who on hot afternoons as we cedar siding on a mansion would wax on about Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Ubermensch” better than my college philosophy professors, or homespun geniuses who never graduated high school but could take out a framing square and tape measure and figure out a compound rafter cut with two different angles like they were tying their shoe.
Related Items
NCCAT celebrates expansion: Center for educator training needs increasing support
This must be the place: ‘I felt a rumblin’ beneath my feet and the whole world was shaken free’
Library allies celebrate: Former FRL Director Tracy Fitzmaurice’s legacy honored
This must be the place: ‘Dry leaves under my shoes, I’ve got nothin’ to lose’
The windows took about an hour and went smoothly. I thanked my friends and they went their separate ways. After they departed, I inspected our work, was pleased with the finished install, and started figuring out the next phase of this project. So much planning, more to build, more to fix.
And still, no thoughts of war, politics, chaos. All things in order in this little corner of my world, and it was satisfying.
(Scott McLeod can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
