Multi-Color Friday and Employees

It looks like the mall achieved its goal of opening (some) stores before Black Friday. Despite the rains of the spring and early summer and the lack of construction workers (more about that in a minute, or longer if you read slow) the mall management has given Northern Colorado something to do on Black Friday.

Speaking of Black Friday, Your Daily Fiber is celebrating its six anniversary. Yep six years! I think Ivy is planning some kind of sale or something. I have/had really great ideas, and Ivy listened to some of them. Then she told me it might be a good idea if I took the twins and go cut a Christmas tree on that day.

I don’t really understand Black Friday. I would rather see Green, Blue, Pink, Purple Friday. Black isn’t even a color. In fact it is lack of color.

In the six years if RUNNING the store I have never been asked, “Hey do you have a yarn with lack of color.” Needless to say I haven’t been invited to whatever color Friday turns out to be. You are invited, but not me.

I’ve been struggling in my construction world. I can’t find workers. I blame the “Woodstock” generation. We were listening to Dylan and Crosby, Stills and Nash dreaming of the future. Somehow we taught ourselves we were not going to work in the trades. We passed those thoughts to our children and guess what………..they listened. Now we have no workers.

Just finding someone to sweep and keep the projects clean can be a problem, Three years ago I found and hired a guy that I hoped I would keep forever. John came from rural Wyoming by way of the oil fields. He can do everything, except stay out of jail.

When John could no longer come to work I was approached by a friend who asked me to hire his son to replace John. I was happy to find a replacement so easily. My friend’s son worked three months before he decided working wasn’t anything he was interested in. Here one day gone the next.

Having a cocktail with a couple of friends, I was listening to the woes of a buddy I have known since before kindergarten, Listening to him talking about the unfairness of his employer set my mind racing. I finally asked, “Do you to sweep a couple houses?’ Amazingly, he took me up on my offer.

My buddy started working for/with a couple days ago. The first day we filled out his paperwork. We decided that it was best if we eased into the actual work part. He went home after the paperwork.

The second day I showed him the physical location of where the job was. Driving there we talked about Dylan and Crosby, Stills and Nash. We picked up a pile of trash outside of a house under construction for about fifteen minutes. I noticed sweat running down his forehead. I suggested we take a break. Ironically, another friend (the Quarterback) dropped by. The quarterback heard we were working together and decided to check up on us. The three of us started reminiscing. We talked about our days in grade school, playing at the park and wondered where all the other kids from grade school ended up. That was enough work for that day. We agreed we needed to ease into this work thing.

The next day was more productive. Together we went shopping to buy a birthday present for one of Girl Twin friends. We went to the hardware store. We were almost late getting to the twins’ school to drop off the gift and pick up Boy Twin. Girl Twin didn’t need a ride. She was going to a two-day sleepover/birthday party.

We laughed remembering what it would have been like asking our dads to drop off a birthday present at school. I will leave off the construction language but we were pretty sure neither dad would have done anything like that.

With Boy Twin in the truck, we headed back to the construction site. Actually we didn’t head back; we headed there for the first time. My friend was telling boy twin about growing up in Northern Colorado. We took a couple detours on the way to the “back” to work. We went to show Boy Twin a couple spots important to our youth. I think Boy Twin was bored.

My friend, Boy Twin and I arrived at the construction. I mentioned to my friend we had accomplished enough that day. He gladly went home. It is going take a long time to finish these houses.

Our crazy lives!

Monner