conarb
REGISTERED
Yesterday I went to the services of an old friend, Bill was a friend from grade school, he was tracked to government employment so didn't go to college, during college I'd come home to work as a carpenter to pay tuition etc,. Bill was working in a gas station, pumping gas, washing windshields etc. Once I asked him what he was going to do, he said he was trying to get on a chain gang with the County Surveyors, by 1975 I was building a home and Bill showed up as a grading inspector, by 1978 he showed up as a building inspector, he said he had gone to the local junior college and learned the building code. After inspection I took him to lunch (we did those things in those days), all he wanted to talk about was his retirement and he told me just how long he had to go, as we talked he'd look at his watch and tell me how long he had to go down to the minute and second.
Later I was building a home for a doctor who asked for a wine cellar to be added, I told him I didn't know how he was going to get down into it but went ahead and formed and poured the walls, Bill didn't notice that the walls had been added at the foundation or any subsequent inspections. I told the owner that there was no way I could get a stairway down there, he said he'd buy one out of Sunset Magazine, eventually a bunch of cartons arrived with an illegal circular stair case, I told the owner that I couldn't put it in that it wouldn't pass inspection, he said to put it in anyway, that's what he hired me for, to beat the bureaucrats. I was walking the house at final with Bill, he had his clip board out checking things off, when he came to what was supposed to be a pantry off the kitchen he put his hand on the knob to open the door finding it locked, he asked me for a key to the door, I told him that I didn't have a key, that the owner was the only one with a key, he asked what was behind the door and I told him that he didn't want to know, what he didn't know he wouldn't be responsible for, then said come on let's get down the hill to lunch. At our 50th high school reunion he said: "Remember the house in the hills above Danville that you wouldn't let me see behind a door, can you tell me now what was behind that door?" I said: "Yes, we added a wine cellar with an illegal circular stairway down into it." Bill said: "Damn good thing that you didn't let me see it."
Bill was retired for 23 years before his passing, he missed our 60th reunion and I heard he had cancer. At his services yesterday there were many old childhood friends, not one person from the building department or any county department showed up to pay their final respects. At the luncheon I had to wade though a bunch or wheelchairs and walkers to get to a seat, I asked about the ADA stuff and if any of them thought it was any good, some liked the curb cuts, others liked the van parking, all liked the free meter parking, but all agreed it wasn't worth the hatred people showed towards them because of the lawsuits and all the best parking spaces reserved for them. Of course I told them that there were a bunch of scoundrels out there exploiting their condition to line their own pockets.
Later I was building a home for a doctor who asked for a wine cellar to be added, I told him I didn't know how he was going to get down into it but went ahead and formed and poured the walls, Bill didn't notice that the walls had been added at the foundation or any subsequent inspections. I told the owner that there was no way I could get a stairway down there, he said he'd buy one out of Sunset Magazine, eventually a bunch of cartons arrived with an illegal circular stair case, I told the owner that I couldn't put it in that it wouldn't pass inspection, he said to put it in anyway, that's what he hired me for, to beat the bureaucrats. I was walking the house at final with Bill, he had his clip board out checking things off, when he came to what was supposed to be a pantry off the kitchen he put his hand on the knob to open the door finding it locked, he asked me for a key to the door, I told him that I didn't have a key, that the owner was the only one with a key, he asked what was behind the door and I told him that he didn't want to know, what he didn't know he wouldn't be responsible for, then said come on let's get down the hill to lunch. At our 50th high school reunion he said: "Remember the house in the hills above Danville that you wouldn't let me see behind a door, can you tell me now what was behind that door?" I said: "Yes, we added a wine cellar with an illegal circular stairway down into it." Bill said: "Damn good thing that you didn't let me see it."
Bill was retired for 23 years before his passing, he missed our 60th reunion and I heard he had cancer. At his services yesterday there were many old childhood friends, not one person from the building department or any county department showed up to pay their final respects. At the luncheon I had to wade though a bunch or wheelchairs and walkers to get to a seat, I asked about the ADA stuff and if any of them thought it was any good, some liked the curb cuts, others liked the van parking, all liked the free meter parking, but all agreed it wasn't worth the hatred people showed towards them because of the lawsuits and all the best parking spaces reserved for them. Of course I told them that there were a bunch of scoundrels out there exploiting their condition to line their own pockets.
