I went into the office to work this week. Shocking, I know.
Since Covid hit, I’ve been to my desk about ten times in the past few years, as we’re allowed to work from home. The commute is awesome. I wake up, walk downstairs and I’m working. Oh, at times I’ll make the coffee first or clean the litter box but most days, I’m raring to go. But I digress.
My work colleague and I were having some difficulties wrapping our heads around a work question, so I said I’d come to the office as it’s easier to talk these things out in person. It was. We figured it out in a few minutes. A nice surprise was that a couple of other co-workers were there too so it was enjoyable to catch up a bit.
Anyway, after visiting, I moved back to my desk and had a look out the window. I’m lucky to have a view of the Adirondacks from my desk and I thoroughly enjoy it. Past the bus station, which is right below our window, there has been a giant hole in the ground where the city of Burlington, in all it’s brilliance, has been trying to construct a giant new structure. It was to have had housing, stores, restaurants, and a top floor view that would be extraordinary. Now, this project began about two years before Covid hit. The scheduled time of completion was the Fall of 2019. It did not happen.
Lawyers, competing construction companies, a changing economy, and a whole host of other issues (including sunspots, locust infestation, global warming and an ever changing cast of wonderful city council members) caused delay after delay. But once again, I digress.
My point is (I had a point?) that after many years, construction had finally begun. I looked out from my desk and saw steel beams, cranes, construction vehicles and actual human beings building a structure. My first thought after my disbelief that progress was actually being made was how much my father would have loved to have this view. You see, my father was a carpenter and worked construction in Syracuse, where we grew up. He helped build many large buildings in the downtown Syracuse area including the War Memorial.
It was hard work that he had to do. I don’t think I could have done it. But he did. He never complained either. Thinking back, I don’t remember him ever taking a sick day either. In those days, I’m pretty sure if you didn’t work, you didn’t get paid. He was a big reason why I decided to go to college. I remember him working so hard that, as he got older, he would nod off after dinner. Hard work will do that to you especially working outside, in the cold Syracuse winters. My Dad, my Mom, my sister, and I all have the same metabolism and get cold when it’s below 75 degrees. So, my father, after working outside all day long, would come home with white fingers from the frigid temps. I had no desire to work outside for a living unless I moved to North Carolina, which I did later in life after smartening up a bit. It’s where I met my lovely bride so things do work out even if we now live in the frozen tundra of Vermont.
In college, I took a course in New York State history. I thought it very interesting. As a final project, we had to write a paper on any subject we wanted but it had to be about New York state, obviously. I checked with my professor about an idea I had for my paper. After some contemplation, I decided to interview my father about all his construction projects around the city.
It wasn’t easy to get him to agree to the project as he was a pretty reserved guy. After I told him that I really needed to do it or I might fail the course, he relinquished. My brother was living home at the time and help me with the interview process. We used an old tape recorder that we had used to send cassette tapes back and forth to my sister. We couldn't call very often long distance because at the time, the rates were six cents a minute and that was too expensive to call (it was a long time ago). So, we bought blank cassettes, talked into them and sent them back and forth in the mail. It was the greatest thing in the world when we received a tape back from my sister with my nephews voice, as he was very young.
But back to my father. I learned a lot about all the different projects that he worked on and amazingly, my mom had saved a whole file folder of clippings from the newspaper as those projects progressed. It was a good way to learn more about the projects he did but also about him and what he felt at the time. I believe I still have the term paper down in the basement in a box labeled Patrick's mementos. I did get an A on the paper.
Looking out the window at the project here in Burlington brought back a lot of great memories to me. My father not only worked hard on the buildings in Syracuse but more importantly, to provide for his family. We didn't always have a lot but I never felt like we lacked for anything. Even though I often laid on the floor with an old army blanket on top of the heat registers because I was freezing, the house was cozy and comfortable.
I always have a big thanks in my heart to my father for all that he did for us, without complaining. I hope he can look down on this project in Burlington, know that I thought of him and how hard he worked all those years. I'm sure he's not too happy that I'm writing this about him but, as my mom used to say “Tough tetas.”
Thanks Dad.
I enjoyed this very much. It even brought tears. Thank you for sharing. You are a.great story teller. 👍
Enjoyed reading this story about Uncle Fran. I never got to know my distant relatives as a child, so I did not know he helped build Syracuse. That was interesting to learn. I'm glad your view is coming along too. You can see the progress as it takes place ..exciting.