Cutting Edges

Early enough at work to go below the floodwall and watch the river go by, finish my coffee and roll a smoke. Kentucky was lovely, across the way. Two strings of barges passed in front of me. Those tugs have very large diesel engines, 35 to 50 thousand horsepower. The one going upstream was pushing hard against a four knot current. Knew D was going to be late, he had to rent a truck to get the last of the lumber and cherry plywood for the back hall. Trouble finding a truck, because it's check-out time at the colleges (everyone is on the semester system now, so they all let out at the same time) and all the trucks and trailers are spoken for. I cut in edges for hours, D rolls the front of the soffits one more time. Because they're new sheetrock, and it's red paint, they require three coats. Red is so difficult to paint because there are lots of solids. At the end of the day it looks like the top edge of the soffit will need cutting in one more time. Tomorrow we start with the cherry plywood. One wall that will be easy, but then wrapping the pilaster from hell. It's out of square two inches in nine feet, dished on one face and proud on the other. We're going to have to frame it out and square the frame. It'll take several days. I don't know how anything could be so out of square. Everything we touch in the museum is racked or canted or just plain crooked, built by committee and the lowest possible common denominator for acceptable. I'm not sure I can, or want to do this, D is leaving, a full-time teaching position that he has to take, more money and all the perks, including college for his kids. TR is off to graduate school, because that's what he needs to do, Sara is semi-retired, Pegi only cares about the Cirque, and Trish is useless, on ankles that can't support her weight. Leaves me, with the museum on my back. Did you read about that Sherpa that climbed Everest four times last year? I mean, really, that seems over the top. I'd almost rather retire, but I have a class on Tuesday, and two on Wednesday, and I like leading the kids around by the nose. It's ridiculous, how good I am at that.