but Deb, if you had your finger in your nose I would have recognized the
salute and a comrade all the sooner.
Eric Hammarberg
Interim Director of Preservation
Associate
LZA Technology
641 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011-2014
Telephone: 917.661.8160 (Direct)
Mobile: 917.439.3537
Fax: 917.661.8161 (Direct)
email: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Deb Bledsoe [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 10:40 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: one day last week
so, it's been a real long day, stripping paint and running around on the
upper east side of manhatten,
and I'm tired, and dirty, my tools weigh a freaking ton, and the traffic is
already insane and it's only 4 o'clock...
so I think to myself, the hell with it, I'm going to leave the car at the
shop and take the train... I'm not going to brooklyn and back to new
jersey, I'm just going straight home...
I'm in a BAD mood
I make my way thru the crowds, down the 6 line to the E, and from there to
penn station; I gather my dollars and a bunch of change from the bottom of
my backpack, and get a ticket to south orange... wait around the station for
the train, ankles swelling by the minute...
I get on the train at around 5:30 and actually find a seat, next to the
window no less!
a lady sits down on the aisle side of the three person seat, and I pull out
a book and start reading...
next thing I know, some skinny guy in office clothes slides in and sits down
in the space between us
this is unusual because usually people avoid me on public transportation --
I look just strange enough in my work clothes that it spooks them and they
give me a wide berth,,,
(or maybe it's the caulk all over my shirt or the mortar in my hair ;) )
but here's this guy sitting there unconcerned, looking at some papers ...
oh well, I'm just reading my book....
the train pulls out of the station and we gather speed, go under the river
and emerge westbound into new jersey...
I'm startled by my phone ringing...
it's ken follett, asking me some questions about a job and some tools we
need, which I answer... much discussion back and forth as I answer his query
about whether we have too many grinders on the list, and I venture that we
don't have enough, but that I think maybe there are too many of something
else, maybe swing stages or skyclimbers -- I can't remember at this point --
then we jawbone a little bit about some office politics and a difficult
customer, and hang up
the geeky office dressed guy next to me says, "I don't want you to think I
was eavesdropping, but I couldn't help hearing part of your conversation, do
you work in construction?"
I'm used to this by now, people are always asking me if I work in
construction --
next he's going to say "what kind of construction" and when I tell him
restoration and waterproofing, he's going to tell me about his leaky
basement or his leaky chimney or some such long sad story --
but I smile and say "yes, I work in a branch of construction" and he says,
"what kind of construction?" right on cue...
so I say "historic restoration and waterproofing, and specialty projects"
anyway, but to my surprise, he doesn't launch into a story about basements
or roofs, but asks where I work...
so I say "Apple Restoration and Waterproofing, located in Brooklyn but we
work all over" and he says "oh yeah, I've worked with Apple, I know the
company well"
so I say "OK, who ARE you?!?"
and he says "Eric Hammarberg, I work at LZA in Manhatten"
turns out we live maybe all of a mile from each other and ride the same
train...
this is SUCH a small world!
(I'm just glad he asked because of the mention of grinders and swingstages,
not because he caught me with my finger up my nose or something! ;) )
and, anybody else out there riding the morris and essex line? if we get a
couple more folks, I'll pack sandwiches and we can have a mini-pignic on the
train ;)
deb, late of oh-10, now of new jersey or is that noo joisy?
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