De-Construction

I sat on the rafters and swung my feet as I waited for the next piece of venting to be cut out. It felt good to sit for a few minutes before dragging/carrying the venting out the hole in the attic to the roof. From the roof it was my job to throw the metal into the trailer parked below. I was trying hard to not  throw myself off the roof with the venting at the same time.


Little by little, we worked out way back to the heat exchange. Using boards as leverage we slowly eased it down onto boards and the three of us began to wiggle it out of the attic. It was at that moment that the two men working with me came to two realizations. Number 1, I could stand up straight in the same attic that they were doubled over in and number 2 I was jumping from beam to beam while they were walking down a 2x12 they had laid down. For some unfathomable reason they felt I had an unfair advantage. (there are some perks to years of gymnastics) But we finally after 15 minutes of pure sweat labor we slowly edged it up to the roof. We slowly carried it to the edge and stood there to catch our breath. As we recovered, people began to stream out of the school to watch with cameras and video recorders in hand. Looking at each other, George and I  put our shoulders to several hundred pounds of metal and pushed it over the edge. As it crashed into the pile of metal beneath it applause and cheers rang out. We waved and headed back to begin a new section.


There is something about demolition that I have to admit that I enjoy. There is something very satisfying about taking a hammer and de-construction something. I have to say that I have had plenty of opportunities for this as I have worked on the Old Willamina High School. Of course it is not demolition for just enjoyment. It is demolition for a purpose and reason. Today's project was because the old boiler system was actually pulling the roof down and causing damage. So little by little, we were fixing the problem.


It is a reminder to me that sometimes to fix problems, there is demolition to do. So often it is hard to think about destroying something ... to build something. But at times it is necessary. I just need to be willing to do what needs to be done.


May all of my demolition projects be as fun as the one today.


Just Connie