My preservation journal is only a way for me to maintain sanity in a world of
petty officaldom; abject juvenile delinquency bordering on criminality
;and the hard work of mobilizing and directing a
preservation team to achieve top results on a 300 ft Goodhue,Gustavino
masterpiece.
 I apoligize to those who find this useless drivel to write about; I
sometimes feel the same way
E-  mail barely holds one's attention long enough  to catch one liners; so Im
going out on a limb time wise with a recent story about my crew; its called
Rakes Progress; I hope you like it
First in appreciation to other journal writers I have admired;
.To begin with.
 Turgenev and Gogol were proably my best teachers;
and  Tacitus did 'nt spend much  time on the scaffold;
but he was accurate; as was my friend Boswel and the piratical Defoe
and most certainly the visuals of  the Ashcan school of
painting are the  most pleasing to my one  eye.
Throw in the mind of a 13 yr.old voyeuer; and there you have it.
So to those that care about such things ; I hope I am a worthy pupil and keep
good company..

Rakes progress
As most of you know its important to keep good company
The french Im traveling  and working with
with are indeed for the most part good company;and maintain a degree of high
profesionalism in their
work ;;and an unparalled esprit de corps when they are on duty.

Its those odd moments on" le week end" when things can  go awry.
and last week end was a perfect case in point.
The juveniles mentioned above are the bain of me.
 I am speaking about the behavioral and social
graces of my crew on "their day off from da cement plant";as I  call it
 The good lord put me on this Earth to serve;and perhaps act as worthy
steward;but enough is enough.
Only last weekend was I awakened by an irate night manager of our hotel; to
find a weeping; female; with mascare running, attired only in her knickers;
 trying to get back into the guys hotel room  to retrieve her belongings.
 These Jean Claude Van Damm wanabees had locked her out because of modesty
issues and her friend... in.... because of lack of them.

 Now at 2 am my prowness as an international arbitrator is sorely lacking;
 but I have commanded
enough guttural french to let these  two timers know that such behavior
cannot be tolerated;
... and they needed to release her clothes.... and   the other femme fatal
inside..... tuit sweet....; or the
hotel manager was calling the flicks;... ce tuit.
 and there wouldn't be  a thing I could do for them if the cops ran them all
in as  I suspect these
 paticular young ladies; by all apperances;   may be juveniles  or close to
it.

After relunctantly opening the door to my 'gentle" persuasion from the other
side;( I am in my shorts and full of no sleep)
 a miraclous thing happened; like magic the  other doors of the" keep" ( fr
for.team) opened up;
 and soon the hall was filled with my iritated  team;... and their  'dates"
who wanted out of there if the cops were coming;..clutching their clothes in
preperation of a hasty departure.
....but not before giving the night clerk an myself a healthy eyefull of
youthfull anticipation

The hall now became a carnival of sorts as there erupted an animated
discussion; and chinese fire drill of gesture and arm folding defence; with
everyone
standing around tatooed iin their boxer shorts,and
bikini  athletics; sporting gold cruxifixes and perpetual tans waving arms at
one another ; using
atrocious language and smoking galloisse like fishmongers in a drought
 while
their "dates" unceremoniously dressed themselves in the hallway;...jockying a
heel there ;hitching a up a skirt there; while leaving the Luthern  night
managers mouth agape; and stupefied; as women almost in pairs ;  wove a
disoriented path to the parking lot; bumping into walls and knocking over the
gum ball machine;trying to hold one another up in their goal of reaching the
parking lot..

 It was sad;the poor girls  looked  utterly disheveled  and manhandled by
these pepi le peau's;;  but I
had to salvage something; so  I spun into action to head off the inevitable,
 and caught myself   immediately "splaining it"
 to the night manager as a sea of French indignation erupted around me;
 I used their excitement to our atvantage; to head off disaster..
I reasoned with the clerk that the men had been working very hard;(see their
eyes are red!) and they
were far away from home and unused to American customs...(dating)....; and
please don't call the cops
because it might put a strain on international relations ( they would all get
a D.D. thats drunk and
disorderly....;cost money... besides that Interpol might be interested in a
few of them );
 then the mayor would be involved; and so would the hotel; and ....  where
are these poor girls mothers anyway?;..and think of the paper work. and what
would that mean for the hotel?and... what kind of place is this anyway?
The struggle shifted... He was now on the defensive;
 I reminded him of our continued good business and calmed him down so he
could retire and let other
guests know they could go back to bed  and that no one was being murdered;
... whew!
My attention now turned towards the keep;.... as my wrath became
unbridled...I  lit into them like white
on rice   ..;they in turn took on the stance of erring alter boys;
 In this whole process I feel like Im Father Flanagin; " There are no bad
boys only misguided youth"  (Spencer Tracey" Boys town "  MgM 1940)...or
better yet a scene out of West Side Story"...." Dear officer Krumpky; the boy
has a social disease"
  No kidding ; when I went to bed all was quiet not a peep; and now bedlam.
After ranting and raving I made peace with the guys ; and we all took a glass
of calvados( a firey apple
licquor from the farm) in one guys room (its now 3 am) and
reminded them that in the midwest; its not like Marsellis; or the pleasure
beaches of Corisica where
some of these guys hail from
";you cannot kick women out of the hotel room with no clothes; and pile on
the other one for sport"    Ahhh   ;But Michelle; she is so healthy;..... "I
know she is healthy;.... thats
not the point!....Mon Deiu  "don't you realize this is Nebraska and  they
still tar and feather men who prey on women out here?
I look around the room , pirate smiles all around. Im doomed  with this crew;
and i think I will proably
spend the summer on a work farm.
PS
There is hope yet I got a few of the guys to join the YMCA; and a few to
attend church with me next
Sunday  ;so its a start;.. but in this case,.... I suspect the real reason is
to meet more women;
...... when I warn them that i do not want to see the ministers daughter out
here in the hallway like
tonightt; and be carefull who you date...no salops or fluzies...There is a
pause then one says in his defence " its not
only us " I try peering into his gallic soul...then(another pause).then.the
youngest says... Ahhh but Michelle; its in the Life; ...no?
and so it is....;.....Best Michael
.