Working on publishing what previously were slide shows …
Part 1, The Hardware Store Rebuild
It all started one day when the gods exchanged presents. The one in charge of the city’s derelict peninsula received a building kit for a large hardware store compatible with the city’s residents.
The peninsula happened to be quite a long way off the beaten track. Building anything there would be a precarious business proposition one would say.
The god in charge of the peninsula pressed ahead. She put out a tender and contracted a hapless construction group, Bosley and Co, to build the hardware store.
Bosley, who preferred to be known as Boss, had just moved his building yard to the peninsula when the river overflowed its banks. When the flood retreated it took most of the tools and supplies with it.
The building kit arrived soon after and Bosley extracted the plans. He studied them closely. His heart stumbled. He crossed to the site, built three courses and knew he had a problem.
“I can’t fit through the door. I knew there was something wrong with plans,” he said and digging deep for optimism, he said, “Gotta laugh!”
Walking away from the disaster so far, he smelled the good aromas of a sausage sizzle.
That same hardware store often ran sausage sizzles donating the proceeds to charitable works. There it was, the umbrella and barbecue set with one leg missing, two sausage sandwiches good to go.
Who was cooking them? At least the sausage rolls are the right size.
His people arrived in dribs and drabs over the following week and he put them to work on a flood-proofing wall.
“All right, people,” said Boss Builder. “You’ve all seen by now that the hardware store build is either a joke or the plans are a misprint.”
“The materials list matches the plans,” Dan said glumly. “I trucked it all there and what? Store management thinks we’re building a club house for kids?”
“I called them about it,” Boss said. “They’re convinced we have the plans for a full-size hardware store. So, Drew and I decided, we’ll build them a full-sized store and charge them accordingly.”
“What he means is full-sized,” Drew indicated the store’s proposed height by raising his hand above his head. “But smaller in area.” He brought his arms inward.
“Should be interesting,” Wendy said.
Next day, a Saturday, Bosley discovered the sausage sizzle in full operation. “Hey there, youngster! I’m Boss Builder. What’s your name?”
“I’m Scott. Doing the sausage sizzle stall for my mother, she was called into work.”
“Too dangerous while we are coming and going with the run-about, Scott. Would you like to earn a few dollars in the yard?”
“Over in the works yard, Mr Builder? Sure thing!”
“Can’t lend you a helmet, it floated away,” Bosley said. “But here’s a works cap. So we’ll know you’re one of the crew.”
“Dan, get down and help me shift this bbq grill?” Boss said.
“What? you want me on foot when I have the run-about? Won’t take me a minute to unhook the trailer. Where will we store this gear?”
“Behind what’s meant as the garden section, for now.”
“One good thing about this site, I suppose, it’s so far off the beaten track, we only need fence markers? Not the whole eight new-feet height fencing contractors?” Dan said.
“We can’t afford fencing contractors. Why we have Ruff, whose bite is at least as good as his bark. And I’m here 24/7.”
“You sleep in the shed?” Dan made his voice aghast. “You can lie straight?”
“After I dump the foundation blocks, fetch what?” Dan said.
“Park the run-about and help me install the blocks.”
“But Boss, the scaffolding is cluttering up the yard. I should get that first.”
“But Dan, nowhere here to put it until we get the blocks in place,” Boss said.
Dan loved twigging Boss. The guy takes himself so seriously, he thought. He parked the run-about and helped set the blocks up.
Rita de Heer 