Some of you might be confused .. Uncle Joe ??? I didn't know Heather had an Uncle Joe. Well that isn't his real name and we didn't change it to protect his identity .. it started way back in the day when my Poppa Holliday was alive. Apparently, he called everyone "Joe" .. so now all the boys, Holliday by blood or Holliday by marriage answer to the name "Joe" - Uncle Joe, Cousin Joe they are the just a collection of "Joe's"
So back to why I love him so much and why he is the star of this post. He has a day job as the Superintendent of Highways in a small town in Southeastern CT. He is a little bit like the postman, in rain, in sleet, hurricanes and Nor'Easters he is out there riding the roads deciding whether or not to close the schools, clearing fallen trees and all that stuff. If that wasn't enough in his spare time - he has his own business. He does site work, excavation, foundations and septic systems. When you are building a house, it might be good to have a connection to someone like that. I happen to be building a house.
He's been supportive of our project from the beginning. In the early Spring, heavy equipment started rolling in. I like to think that Paul and I are pretty enlightened people. We understand the cost of things like labor, fuel, materials. We were aware of the intricacies of what it meant to build a house. However, until you start to live it, the engineers needed to draw plans, the measuring, re-measuring, and the triple checking to make sure things are where they are to be. The time it takes to do everything right ... the first time. Apparently you don't just turn on the excavator and start digging - it has to be a little more precise than that. Until you experience the convoy of trucks rolling in at 5:00 after they all did their "day job" day after day. Until you see them EVERY Weekend working 14 hour days, both Saturday and Sunday you cannot really wrap your head around what a gift it is to have this talent in your family.
Uncle Joe with his supporting cast dug the hole for the foundation, sealed and insulated it, did the curtain drains, all the trenching for the geothermal loops and the underground conduit for the utilities, well lines, and then there is the septic system. He is also in charge of demo of the old house and getting the yard, well, looking like a yard again with grading, etc. Trust me when I tell you - that is a CRAPLOAD of stuff.
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| The crew |
At a quick glance he looks like an "Average" Joe ... he's always wearing a baseball hat, chewing on a toothpick and usually has a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup in his hand. More than likely he is outfitted in the most stylish of safety orange as he shuffles between various pieces of equipment.
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| See, safety orange |
To many he might just be an "Average Joe" but, to me, to us, he is far from average.
#12 - I am thankful for my Uncle "Joe"
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