By Maryanna Gabriel
Recently I hired a carpenter to help me with some gates. I have found that as a general rule,
if I can find someone who will work it is an exercise fraught with peril. This gentleman at first gave me a quote that by my
estimation was about $100 an hour but I was desperate. I said that maybe he could show me why it would cost that much and I gave him the go ahead. During the process of enduring him on the job site he told me constantly what I needed to do that I was not doing in in the micro-universe of my life that he was observing. He ignored instructions and requests. I showed him something that needed attending and he proceeded to tell me how to do it and much to my amazement walked away. How does this happen? In the end, he said he was finished and came in at what I figured was $60 an hour. It was outrageous. However I did have two new gates. After paying him, I proceeded to finish the job he started. I got out my sander and buffed away. I hid a huge crack with a charming heart because he screwed without drilling first. I figured out how to extend what he had started because I had what he did as a map and managed to stabilize a rickety situation. I plucked up the courage mostly through indignation or is it anger to do the job he walked away from and it works just fine. You are probably thinking I am not very smart. Trust me. I am. I have the gates. They look fantastic and I got them within three days of my initial request. It turns out he needed groceries. I consider myself lucky. This is a record and I have been living here on this island for 25 years.
