Carpenter #003

As you can see I'm in the process of building a new greenhouse for MP's tomatoes. She starting gnawing on this project about Mexico time and theres just no dodging it anymore. She got on the radio and asked for used windows and the phone rang off the hook, so now we're saving money by framing in for used windows. Its kind of like a trip to costco, man it costs alot to save money. In this case we need headers and trimmers and all that technical stuff that you don't need with just your usual ol garden variety greenhouse.

So I started on the project about noon on Tuesday and it took me exactly 2 nails to smash my pinky with the hammer. The realization settled in on me, my power framing days are over. The problem wasn't that I've lost my moves or that I'm not strong enough to swing the darn thing...its my depth perception. I've got these transitional tri-focal glasses and when I bent over to nail it made my hand look like they were a mile away.

I didn't start out to be a carpenter , like alot of life it just happened to me. When I got back to Alaska the pipeline boom was on and the people that I new were carpenters, not oilfield. So I built houses and let me tell you, I made some money for alot of people. Not being able to see anybody do anything better than me I worked my tail off. Although not the best carpenter I was fast and fearless, the guy that rolled the trusses and walked the walls....but my heart was never really in it and thats how I got into guiding.

It was 1980 and I was building the sewer plant in Kenai, making a ton of doe that bought my first nice boat.  But I had use of Woodys old S.S. minnow with a brand spanking new 25 horse Evinrude I had bought. We had a Superintendent named John Manson. John was all business and a hard man that everyone was scared of. But John heard I was catching these Kenai Kings and just had to have some, he loved to fish. Well, one thing lead to another and all that summer on Friday he'd pay me carpenters wage to go fishing. This was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me but I have to say the carpenter foreman got to hating my guts for it. But like all construction jobs this one came to an end and before John Manson left he called me in and said "ya know you're a hell of alot better at that fishing deal than you are at carpentering" In fact he said " you'd of hit the road 4 months ago if you hadn't had that boat".....mmmm......so the next year, 30 years ago, I had a guide sticker on my brand new Klamath boat that the sewer plant had purchased for me, and my first customer was John Manson.

I might have a sore finger and it kind of worries me for my guitar playing but its kind of cool to have life skills that create things...you know me, I don't hire anything, do it all myself and I do it hard.

The Kenai river at Mile 14 is yet to ice out. Last year if you remember it went out on the 15th. So thats my bet, tomorrow its going to go to make it an annual event. It actually looks like a pretty safe bet, the ice is all spongy and theres open water here  and there. I'll let you know when she goes....So come back next week, I'll blog about the State mandated guide school I must attend, it should be chuckly.