I can break anything.. but this
I can't fix anything.. at least I couldn't until recently. But I could always break things. Just last week, I broke a weedeater less than 15 minutes after I fired up the engine. I hate those things.
I say I could always break things, until today. I just had my first experience with old school craftmanship. No offense against the new stuff (less than 50 years old.) But wow!!! The old stuff is "hell for stout" as my friend Max would say.
Here's the story.. I've broken and fixed dozens of things at the Windmill
Ranch. All's good. No worries. But now, we have the Manhatten project. It sounds like a movie, but it is really the old hotel that my family bought in downtown Snyder.
Anyway, we're making big renovations.. primarilly upstairs. You gotta know that this bldg was constructed in 1910-1916. That was a different time. For cryin' out loud, the rafters btw floors are at least 2"x14". The nails look like something I've never seen. All the walls are plaster on lathe, either wood or wire.
Well today, I took it upon myself to rip down (or try to rip down) part of the ceiling. We want an 'exposed' look. So here I go.. piece of cake.. piece of cake my fanny.
First, I used a crowbar... I could almost hear my two, teenage hired hands laughing. Nothing happened, except I got covered in dust. Then, I said; "let's use a SAWZALL." Brilliant!! I'll have this done lickety split. Bull!!! I pulled out the sawzall and I know the ol' plaster and wire said: "get outta here, you sissy." Then, I returned to the basics.. a 2lb sledge. It worked. The bummer is.. it took 1/2 an hour just to remove a 2'x8' section. At that rate, I'll be on that ladder all day tomorrow and most of the next day too.
My point is.. the incredible craftmanship. Whoever built this stuff built it to last. I couldn't get mad, even though I was cussin' in my head like a sailor. Because the whole time, I kept saying to myself, I wish I had not only the patience, but also the skill to build something so sturdy and everlasting.
Maybe the good news is, I'm done w/ breaking things and onto something less destructive.
Bill Robertson
I say I could always break things, until today. I just had my first experience with old school craftmanship. No offense against the new stuff (less than 50 years old.) But wow!!! The old stuff is "hell for stout" as my friend Max would say.
Here's the story.. I've broken and fixed dozens of things at the Windmill
Ranch. All's good. No worries. But now, we have the Manhatten project. It sounds like a movie, but it is really the old hotel that my family bought in downtown Snyder.
Anyway, we're making big renovations.. primarilly upstairs. You gotta know that this bldg was constructed in 1910-1916. That was a different time. For cryin' out loud, the rafters btw floors are at least 2"x14". The nails look like something I've never seen. All the walls are plaster on lathe, either wood or wire.
Well today, I took it upon myself to rip down (or try to rip down) part of the ceiling. We want an 'exposed' look. So here I go.. piece of cake.. piece of cake my fanny.
First, I used a crowbar... I could almost hear my two, teenage hired hands laughing. Nothing happened, except I got covered in dust. Then, I said; "let's use a SAWZALL." Brilliant!! I'll have this done lickety split. Bull!!! I pulled out the sawzall and I know the ol' plaster and wire said: "get outta here, you sissy." Then, I returned to the basics.. a 2lb sledge. It worked. The bummer is.. it took 1/2 an hour just to remove a 2'x8' section. At that rate, I'll be on that ladder all day tomorrow and most of the next day too.
My point is.. the incredible craftmanship. Whoever built this stuff built it to last. I couldn't get mad, even though I was cussin' in my head like a sailor. Because the whole time, I kept saying to myself, I wish I had not only the patience, but also the skill to build something so sturdy and everlasting.
Maybe the good news is, I'm done w/ breaking things and onto something less destructive.
Bill Robertson
posted by Windmill Ranch @ 7:14 PM
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