I get to my condo project today… a little early… i put on a pot of coffee and do a few small things then head across the street to my warehouse office to check faxs, emails make a few phone calls ect… i have cameras so i see a car roll up… i have 2 full time guys/labor…. hispanic guys… so about 20 min i get back over there and see piles of sheetrock dust ect… still in the piles that were left on friday… i figured they’d have picked up up first thing….
i find Leo in the furthest unit… and say good morning … he’s on his phone…. he motions for me to come back…. hands me the phone…
George is dead… his brother that works with him everyday…. neither george or leo spoke much english… hell they didn’t speak much at all…. but the guy on the other end of the phone tells me george…leo’s brother has died… I didn’t get alot of details… but seems Sat he drank too much and went to sleep… and didn’t wake up… I’m not sure if Leo knew this before he got to the job and just came to tell me… or he just got the news himself… it was just me & him there… ….
maybe once every few months one of them would not show up… usually a car issue or something… and I don’t think they lived together so if just leo showed up… then he’d say “no george today”
Leo was cry’n like a baby… i’m hung’n Leo tearing up myself… here’s this poor guy 2000 miles from home no other family here… and i’m kinda guess’n he just found out… not that it would be unlike him to come to work to tell me that he couldn’t work today and to tell me about George… All i can do is tell him how sorry i am…
Leo has worked for me… maybe 2-3 years… and one day after about 8 months he just shows up with george and tells me… it’s his brother and thats he’ll work also…
they talked so little even between them… they just worked… if they couldn’t on their own find something that needed to be done… they swept… cleaned… or pulled out a lawn mower or weedeater…. they knew the day the dumpster got emptied and always made sure it was full before so…
we said good morning… I was usually there first and made coffee… they always thanked me for the coffee…. they’d clean the pot before they left each day… i said thank-you everyday as they left… I thanked them each friday as i handed them their pay and confirmed that i would see them monday… and they thanked me
I know very little about them… I know they are from Cancun…. i doubt either is even 25years old…
I gave the guy on the other end of leos phone my name & number… he knew who i was because he’d picked them up on days they were without a car… he’d even come in and help them work until it was quiting time… He said they had raised enough money to send him home from friends already… but that he had to go and make the plans… he even told me that Leo didn’t want to work today… like it needed to be said… I’m not sure i got the story right but best i can tell is that George drank alot Sat. nite and then went to bed… and never woke up… I tried to let him know if they needed someone to do anything or if they needed money to let me know…
I don’t know if Leo will go back to Mexico with Georges body… many hispanics that use to go home for the winter or for christmas no longer do for fear they won’t be able to return…
George brought me a watermellon this summer….
sounds like a small thing… but since we couldn’t really talk… it ment a ton to me…. as i shared it with friends i was proud to tell them who had gifted it to me…I’d just given them a small christmas bonus on friday… and without even opening it… they both really thanked me…. they’d keep a radio on a hispanic channel all day… and i’d sing with the radio…have’n heard the same song 50x… with no idea what i was singing… they enjoyed laugh’n at me…
guess i just had to ramble & vent some… so thanks for listening… weird how i considered these guys… mine… they’d be work’n for me and i’d be outside fix’n their car… I’d be wax’n my boat and they’d stay and help me … i never questioned when they showed up or when they left… what they got done or not done… they’d watch me and then… do what i was doing… we’d laugh… and not have a clue
god speed george you are in my prayers
p
Replies
Be sitting with ya while you grieve if you don't mind.
sittin w/dovetail beside ya
you might ask to go over to Jorge/Georges house
see if there is anything you can help with.
Lo Siento
Vaya con Dios George
Edited 12/26/2007 5:38 pm ET by Scrapr
I'll toast him when I crack open a beer later tonight.
Cheers George.
Tears here
When the world looses a good working man, we all lose some good
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I'd like to join dovetail and the others if you don't mind....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
You're makin me cry, and that aint easy. Hang in there...
thanks guys... man... I just so feel Leos pain... tears have been roll'n all day... i pretty much worked alone all day... everywhere i looked i saw and remembered george...
I hear stuff about people being here and not being legal... and i do understand... but when you see young guys so willing to work... in a country where they know no one and show up with nothing but a pair of jeans and a few t-shirts... and ... and... come from a place with so little that they actually respect your stuff because even if it's not theirs they know it has value....
case in point...
they will mark the end of each drop cut of any 2x with how long it is...and stack it where they can see... so when they need a 14" piece of 2x they can grab the one closest to that 14"... YOU CAN SEE they'll feel bad about cutting a 18" down to 14"...
george lost the spring out of the spool of my weedeater... & offered to come back on sat to look for it on his own time......
I guess you have to come from a place of so little to know these things...
the respect i feel for these guys few will ever know...
thanks for feel'n my pain guys...
p
Words fail me. I am so sorry.
You are a good man to see past what so many cannot.
Sorry for the loss of your guy.
Man, I've been there. When I lived in So.Fla.I had many workers like your two brothers. Even tho I could not all ways communicate with them most of them were good workers but more importantly were good men!
Don't really know what to say except hang in there. You have a lot of us behind you.
To become a father is not hard; to be a father is, however.
You lost something more than an employee. My condolences to you and his family.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
My condolences.I am at a complete loss for words.
Rich Beckman
I must still have the flu. My nose is running and my eyes are tearing.
feeling Leo's pain and yours too. Vaya con Dios, Jorge, vaya con Dios.
That was a heart felt story.
I feel pain but Im sure I dont feel yours .
Im sorry for your loss .
When I got a computer I found chat . I made a friend and she was a nurse . I was there for her when she bought a house advising and answering questions although I couldnt be there. Since she was a nurse she answered those questions which meant a lot to me . We visited every day for three years . She had got married and was moving away. I got a few emails from libraries and then nothing for a while .
No one could understand it so I didnt mention it to anyone . Most all thought it was a girlfriend. It wasnt . The other thing was that we had never personally met but I considered her to be one of my friends . I thought about her a lot when I hadnt heard from her and I didnt know anyone to check on her.
One night 2 yrs later , her light lit up on messenger . After my jaw dropped I sent her a message . It ended up being her daughter . Mama passed away and I got her computer. I felt a loss for someone I had never seen.
Tim
Speechless
J
Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
I am going to join the group here, I know about some of the feelings you are going through.
I lost a friend awile ago and you guys talked with me about it. Helped out alot.
Reading your story brought back that felling of getting punched in the stomach that I felt not so long ago.
My thoughts are with you and your workers family.
Woods favorite carpenter
So very sorry to hear of this tonight.
=(
Sorry about your loss. I used to hire latinos for work. Mostly Mexicans.
I noticed that hispanic loborers that I knew drank differently than Americans or europeans. They drank like fish and didn't handle it well at all.
Kind of like the stories I've heard about native Americans up in Alaska. They get so drunk they go outside and freeze to death.
If you can, discourage them from drinking. It's just not a good mix for most of them.
Edited 12/26/2007 8:28 pm ET by popawheelie
I have seen
A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract
Of inland ground, applying to his ear
The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell;
To which, in silence hushed, his very soul
Listened intensely; and his countenance soon
Brightened with joy; for from within were heard
Murmurings, whereby the monitor expressed
Mysterious union with its native sea.
Even such a shell the universe itself
Is to the ear of Faith; and there are times,
I doubt not, when to you it doth impart
Authentic tidings of invisible things...--William Wordsworth
Naive but refreshing !
"Words fail me. I am so sorry.
You are a good man to see past what so many cannot." Truenorth
Ponytl,
Sorry about your loss, and his brother's. I think Truenorth hit it it on the head as far as my feeling's on this. Thank's for making a difference, as you are.
Northeastvt
WOW!
Have had to deal with boozer, druggie, domestic violence, and other employee problems but nothing like that.
Hang in there man.
My condolences to you, and Leo and his family......
"only the good die young"...............Godspeed to you George.
Geoff
thank you guys....
i got a call last night from their friend... to tell me Leo wanted to take today off work... that they were still in the process of making plans to send George home... he said... like 4k to the funeral home for this service... he did say Leo would not be going home and that he wanted to keep his job... I guess i'll never know details of what exactly happened and thats ok...
I told them to let me if they needed me or help...
I did tell the guy to let leo know how sorry i was... and that they were in my prayers...
again guys thanks for giving me a place to...
p
Sorry pony to read of the loss; it's amazing how we get attached to people who are straight-shooters, hard workers, good people.
A lot can be said about illegals (right or wrong) in this country, and am sure it has been said and written in the Watershed before, but a story I'd like to share:
Just over a year ago I was hospitalized for, as it ended up being, two weeks with what ended up being a rare and life threatening blood disorder (TTP). Got all the calls and periodic visits from close family and friends (also an attorney to finalize a few things "just in case"), not wishing others to know; business colleagues, acquaintences, etc. About the middle of the second week I was laid up, who should show up but four Guatemalans (all illegals, but some with "paperwork"); some of them I had employed casually a year or so before on weekends when I was getting my homeowner-GC'd house mostly finished--some of them had worked for my foundation and framing sub is how I was first introduced to them. They coming in to my hospital room put a few tears in my eyes which I had to fight back; my wife's jaw dropped that they would be so considerate and thoughtful to come see me.
The following night, two brothers, Hugo and Nato (brothers to one of the guys the night before and my favorite and most adept carpenters to have on site when we were doing finish work) came in with a bag of COKES and other high-octane power drinks. Again, a tear in the eye about such an unexpected visit. As best I could I tried to assure them that everything would be okay, that I'd be out of there soon, and that they needed to take the drinks with them, that I was getting enough to drink in the hospital. We didn't talk about too much as their English isn't the best, nor is my Spanish. They seem to have a bit of fear in their eyes seeing some tall, healthy when they knew me, white guy looking a bit wasted and washed out from the treatments I had in the hospital.
My wife and I figured that our housecleaner, a Mexican woman and wife (I believe she is legal btw) to one of the Guatemalans must have sensed and figured out what was going on with me and why I wasn't around the house of late. The neighbor across the street also employs the same and I think she let on what was going on with me.
When these guys were on site during construction, we had a good connect; sharing lunches, stories, and kicking around the soccer ball during the lunch hour. They worked hard, I paid them fairly, and they were extremely honest and trustworthy even if we had to rip out or redo what they put in sometimes, but only occassionally! ;-)
my condolences tooyou have given life / a face to this immigration issuemost of what they are guilty of is having a gift for workingprobably a benefit to you & hugely important to him to come up w/ another hispanic helper / in their culture solo is an anomaly
here's to you & yours
man sorry to hear how bad you were down... i hope all is well or on the road there now....
I think it usually takes 2-3 generations to become a screwed up american...
I tend to embrace those that embrace their culture... (not those that find "their culture" 100 yrs after) but those who have close connections to the traditions of their grandparents...
I'm almost ashamed of how little i knew of George... I have to believe he had a close connection to the land... i watched him as we did landscaping and you could see it when his hands were in the dirt... we have a jobsite cat... now fixed but not before 2 litters of kittens... george was the first to check on them everyday... and seems he always spent at least part of lunch with the cat...
it's not always sad when one passes... many have lived full rich lives... some have caused nothing but pain...
when someone as young as George who as far as i knew never tried to do anything but the right thing... i feel like we all lose...
many of my friends kids are close in age to what george was... and i can be pretty safe in saying he'd worked more in one month than they have in their entire life...
I hope that those who knew him speak of him often... that leo will tell his future children of him and that they will know him... it's what i pray
p
Sad...It sounds as though George had a good attitude, and good integrity. That's tough to find.Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
My condolences. That's a shocking thing to have to go through.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and Leo and Georges (Jorges?) family tonite!
Ponytl
My deepest sympathy to leos family and you.
I had a man from the Dominican who worked for me for 12 yrs. he became like a brother to me. 9 of those years he was here alone saving to bring his family. Shortly after they came he passed away I will never forget what a good man & worker he was. I try not to dwell on his passing but on the joy he brought to me and those of my family and fellow workers. Thank you for posting your story it touched home and it lets us all know there are still a few good men out there who care regardless of where you come from
Zeeya
Wow. You and they shared the satisfaction of a good honest days' work and mutual respect - things that transcend language. Thanks for sharing your loss.
Dude, that is rough! My prayers and thoughts are with ya'll. You got my attention!
Looks like what ya'll had was stronger than speech and language could take you. A common bond, desire and need that carried forward.
Later as time permits, try and learn Spanish and be that much closer to Leo. maybe one of those language on tapes things. As you commute try and pick up a little. A sort of tribute to George.
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.”
Reagan....
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
-Truman Capote
thanks man... and to all who have posted ... means a ton...
learning spanish... i bought the tapes... and can even say/speak a very small amount... basic words and the la and el....
but... i have considered it a disservice to them for me to learn/speak spanish... if i was in mexico yes... but with them being here... I think it's far better to not meet in the middle.... I call things what they are in english and they usually chime back with what they are in spanish... but even when i know the spanish word... i say it in english.......
for them to know basic english is much more important than for me to know spanish... I usually have a word of the day... and i test them all day on that word... simple stuff like door... hinge.... hammer... floor.... wall... ceiling.... ect... words that i know will help them... and me...
thanks again and have a happy new year
p
I know this is coming late, but I've been busy and haven't visited here much lately. Your experience is very sad, especially that George was so young, that makes the loss even more tragic.
I hope your other man Leo finds another good working partner and you find another good employee for him to team up with.
Yes, as someone else said here, this and the other story here, puts a human face on the immigrant issue. We all have been immigrants, unless we are Indian descent, we all have had ancestors coming here looking for a better life. It is sad when someone's life is ended before they've had a chance to realize their hopes and dreams.
Today I worked around a couple of flooring people, both Brazilians, they listened to my struggling in broken Spanish. It reminded me that I need to get back to Spanish classes and get out to meet and converse with more spanish speakers.
I disagree about attempting to communicate to someone in their native tongue. I think it goes a long way toward letting them know you have consideration for them. As foreigners in a strange land, they have plenty of pressure and reminders that they need to learn English, what they don't often get is an American willing to bend over in their direction a little and attempt to communicate with them. Most immigrants I've known appreciate the effort, like I said, it shows consideration. Learning a new language is difficult and takes years and older one gets the harder it is.
I also think your story points up how often we as Americans take what we have for granted -- until someone comes along and shows appreciation for what many consider the most mundane things in life.
I hope the time you've had over the holidays has helped you heal a bit.
I kind of have the sense that ponytl showed (and will continue to show) George and Leo more consideration than the vast majority of Americans show to non-English speaking immigrants.
He made them feel welcome, secure, useful, and not friendless. If we all did that, I don't think we'd need to know much Spanish. Not that us knowing Spanish isn't viewed by immigrants as nice, but I'll bet they'd take an English speaking ponytl over what they usually have to deal with speaking Spanish.BTW, wouldn't Brazilians be speaking Portuguese?
Rich Beckman
Oh, and it's the same old story
Ever since the world began
Everybody got the runs for glory
Nobody stop and scrutinize the plan
Nobody stop and scrutinize the plan
Nobody stop and scrutinize the planPaul Simon, 1973
The cat ran over my keyboard, so if this double posts, my apologies.Populations in most countries in the world are at least bi-lingual if not tri-lingual. Many Europeans know at least two different languages (from getting around one country to another) and learn English in school.Countries that suffered under colonial rule also have populations that are tri-lingual as subjugation to the ruling regime, usually European, required learning their ruler's language. Language is at the heart of identity of a people and thus reflects the dominance of a given regime or culture over a people. Africans and South Americans reflect this in that in Africa, the "national" language will be often European, as in West Africa being French, while each locality speaks a tribal language that reflects a deeper and more important cultural rooting and bonding.In many third world countries, knowing English pretty much represents one's access to formal education or possibly missionaries who might set up schools with English as a taught language. The question often arises, is missionary work another form of colonization? I often wonder, what are Americans afraid of when considering bi-lingualism for themselves? While cultures the world over have managed to survive despite the dominance by force of colonists who imposed 'national' language upon them, we fear some loss of national identity simply by learning another language. Is our national identity that fragile?The vastness of the human mind is reflected in the wide array of human adaptation and development. Wisdom gained over various centuries of experience can often only be related orally and understood only when someone understands the culture from which it comes. But, by the same token, we all become richer when we make an effort to understand the experiences and wisdom of others. When we profess proudly that we accept the diversity of the human race openly, we need to understand that when we all completely melt into one morass of sameness, we lose the full dimension and scope of the human experience.As you can see, I am pretty fascinated by this topic. My mom is an anthropologist and she's in her seventies. She's spent her entire adult life studying how people live together, evolve and survive together. She says she doesn't understand it all yet, so how the heck can I say so either? I'm just putting forth how I see things.I hope I didn't bore you to death with my long missive here.Anyway, I wish that everyone was as generous and loving as ponytl, we'd have a lot more peace and better living I think if we were.
Two good and interesting posts, girlbuilder.
btw, French, Spanish and Portugese are romanic languages. To your blushing girlish ears, of course, they are romantic. ;-)
edit for spelling.
Edited 1/8/2008 9:35 pm ET by Pierre1
Thank you Pierre and I stand corrected. They all are indeed Romanic, evolving from the Roman conquerers, not romantic.
Although I'd say that a good looking man with a Romanic language accent dripping from his mouth can sway my romantic tendencies pretty quickly.
Why, thank you kindly mademoiselle.
you know i'll love you either way but....
yes in the short term it would be "kind" for me to learn spanish... to make them feel "good"
but thats a whole lot like handing them a fish vs teaching them to fish....
if and when Leo goes to work for someone besides me.... chances are it will be in the construction arena or maybe landscape?
if he knows simple words such as what things are called that are used everyday in construction ... english names for materials and tools... he'll be 10 steps ahead of many... add the fact he knows what a hammer drill, a laser, a bobcat, a level is by name... and knows how to use it... I think this helps him... more than me speaking spanish would ... might make him feel good... but then what has he learned?... thru my misplaced compassion he's now not learned something that will help him for life...
I don't speak spanish because i care... sometimes you have to pass on the warm and fuzzy....
I'm not cold about it... and i don't ignor something he says in spanish that i understand just because it's spanish.... i just try to call a Level a Level everytime and when he hands me a level... many times i'll say "level" and make him say "level" he might tell me the spanish word for it... but thats not the point ....
if you save one... you have saved the world
peace :)
p
You know, I probably shouldn't have brought up the language discussion on such a topic, it was pretty tactless. I don't or anyone to think I'm one-upping or criticizing anyone. My apologies as I think I came off that way. Yes, Brazilians speak Portugese, but Brazilians are quite often tri-lingual. One the beauties also of learning Spanish is how much it links to the other romantic languages like Portugese, Italian and French (although I'd say french is the most difficult).I grew up in the midwest where no one was bilingual and my exposure to immigrants was very small if non-existent. It wasn't until I lived in New Mexico as a teen that I discovered that the world is not just all about black and white. I also discovered that I had a boatload of assumed privilege that wasn't necessarily so. One of the reasons I chose to live where I do now (in a small new england town) is that the first time I came here I was fascinated by the vast array of different languages spoken and myriad different cultures people live in. I love people and for me, the incessant communicator that I am, I am always remiss when I can't communicate with someone. I always find it my lacking of knowledge, my loss that I don't share the same method of communication. What is lost in the translation? What are the nuances of perception and feeling that I don't pick up because I can't relate or understand truly that person when I cannot understand their native language? But your story actually, as Rich points out, is one that shows that humans can transcend language and build relationships of caring and mutual concern by forming their own process of communication.Anyway, I really appreciate your sharing here and take it to heart. I also agree that your actions were indeed showing them greatest consideration, bonuses, etc. I think the singing their songs with them was a great story; humor breaks barriers like no other because it involves a genuine willingness on the part of one person to take on self deprecation. The receiver of the humorous story/action then reciprocates by laughing, thus saying, "I understand, I am vulnerable, I love, I feel like you and with you; we are one at this moment."What else bonds us as humans in our mutual effort at survival than that? And lastly, we most certainly need to bond with eachother because this thing called life is nothing we can get through alone.
"Today I worked around a couple of flooring people, both Brazilians, they listened to my struggling in broken Spanish."
Spanish won't do you much good with those Brazilians -- they speak Portugese. ;-)
This thread really highlights the need for all the knuckleheads in Washington to get together and come up with a good, fair solution to the immigration issue. I understand that there are two sides to the story, but there has to be common ground somewhere in the middle. I'm really fed up with politicians who take a hard line, on either extreme, and won't budge towards the middle. If I could, I'd replace all the Rupublicans & Democrats in Washington with a crop of Republicrats! (Or mebbe Democans?)
I just don't see how providing access to this country to decent, hard-working guys like this hurts anything in the US -- seems to me it would just make things better -- for both sides.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
ya, well, this is Breaktime and the Tavern doesn't always have guys in it that think straight. View ImagePeace out.
"ya, well, this is Breaktime and the Tavern doesn't always have guys in it that think straight. View Image"
True enough -- we're always thinkin' "plumb, square & level; plumb square & level". ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I lived in another country that had an immigrant policy that worked for both sides of the fence.
If you looked around the world most countries have poorer neighbors and have dealt with this issue. Some of these countries have great immigrant policies that we could just look at and adopt in part or whole. Easy, right!
But nooooooooooooo. we couldn't do it like other countries. That would be un- American. Bull, What's more American than looking at things rationally and getting ideas from other sources. After all we are a nation of immigrants.
Where I lived they had a great work program. They put them up in great housing. they trained them in different trades and sent them to school for more advanced training. After they spent a set amount of time they had to go back to their country.
Guess what!. When they got back to their country they were in high demand because of the training and education. There was a long waiting list to get in the guest worker program.
The worker was happy.
The home country was happy.
The guest country was happy.
After all we are a nation of immigrants.
sorta...
my family has been here 15,000 years...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
That's a long time. I would like to be more connected to the land and my extended family but it just isn't that way for me.
Thats the trouble with you people, you never wanted to travel. ;-)
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
that's us.... immigrunt...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"my family has been here 15,000 years..."
Yeah, but they emigrated from Russia, or some such. ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Interesting commentary on NPR this a.m. Guy pointed out that the EU will leave us in the dust since their model deals with both free trade and free labor so the system works more effeciently. We have a free trade agreement, but left the other half of the equation out of the picture, so it will never work well.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Sorry to hear about what happened.
And I thought I was having a crappy day. I feel for ya.
When a fireman dies, especially in the line of duty, firemen and companies come from everywhere to honor them at their funeral, some from hundreds of miles away, and they show up in their dress uniforms. Many vocations must have this, especially ones who lay their lives on the line for others like policemen or soldiers. It's very moving.
There's an understanding and therefor an honoring.
A person who is a trade worker and has dedicated their lives to a craft that will last is near and dear to most of us here. We are making and building things that many who haven't even been born yet will buy and enjoy, and then pass on to others.
The value of a good working man or woman in the trades is very strong to those of us who do it, from the bosses on down to the broom pushers. It's like a fraternal order.
As I am hanging crown today and shaving the trim to make another kitchen picture perfect for the umpteenth time, I will think of this guy and honor him in my heart.
I just noticed this thread today.
I hope you and especially Leo are getting through this. I lost a brother in 2001. Still shed tears to this day.
God Bless and God speed to George.
I bet Leo is grateful to have you around
Dave Otto -- Otto Construction -- PA
thanks man... I know it has to be hard...
I'm kinda letting leo just do his thing... i know it's hard... they had set up their own lunch room area... radio... i got em a coffee pot & microwave refrig & water cooler...
i almost cry when i see him sitting in there eating alone...
he comes in a little late and leaves dead on time...
says very little all day but i have him doing some kinda detail stuff sealing every gap & crack... takes up time...
i still say good morning but he kinda slips out in the afternoons... if i see him on his way out... i'll tell him thanks...
wish i could do more... but i have the feeling he just wants to chill for awhile... so i let him... next week i'm try'n to line up where he'll be working side by side with me all week...
thanks
p
Not nearly the same, but a few years ago I had a friend working for me. His mom was in the hospital and had some severe internal bleeding. Rightfully so, he wasn't to with it. I let him build his first set of steps on a deck -- three risers, two treads. I gave him just a little guidance, but let him do most of the calculations and carpentry. It took him about 5 hours to do the whole job. I didn't care. At the end of the day, he got a call that his mom was doing better. What a day for him -- first set of steps and mom recovering.
None of that part of being a boss is ever addressed in the management books. I applaud your plan for next week.Dave Otto -- Otto Construction -- PA
My heart goes out to you and to Leo and George's family. I hope Leo sticks with you ponyti, you are a good man.
Paul