Back To School

It's that time of year again. Time for Colt to head back to school. This year is going to be a little different; Colt and his roommate, Bob, moved off-campus. 

We rounded up some furniture and helped Colt take it down to Marietta over the past couple of weeks. Bob's parents were there the first time helping him put his furniture together. Bob got the big bedroom since he got there first. He brought some nice tables and lamps for the living room. Colt's contribution was a dining room table, couch and big TV. We took his bed and chairs and the rest of his necessities last weekend. The apartment looks nice. 

Colt headed back to Marietta today to begin another semester at the university. He kept coming back. I would tell him 'bye' and then go inside. He made it out of the driveway and pulled back in the other one. He said he forgot something. Next time he got down the road a little piece before he turned around for something else. He finally got gone on the third try.

I bet Colt will be so happy to be away from me and in his own apartment for a while. I'm going to miss him so much even though he's hardly ever here. He hangs out with his buddy Justin, after work. He is the boy who thought Colt was a Jew. Although he's a knucklehead, Justin is a real good friend and a likable fellow.

Scout got Colt a job with him this summer. Scout works for Bob DeGraan. Bob owns Fencing Unlimited. Fencing must really be unlimited because Scout has had steady work all throughout this recession. They work all over north Georgia. Scout's even worked in Tennessee. 

Fencing has been a learning experience for Colt. Or maybe it has been an endurance experience because Colt has worked his tail off. He and Scout look like they've been rolling in the dust by the time they get home. Colt showed me scratches and regaled me with stories of wrestling huge rolls of barb wire; trying to unwind them among the brambles, and the bushes, sometimes dragging them uphill. Scout enjoyed working with Colt and showing him that he could outwork him. 

It's important that Colt learns manual labor if he is going to be in charge of construction management when he graduates. There is nothing worse than a boss who doesn't understand his employees because he has never worked. Book learning is good and important, but understanding every aspect of a job is invaluable. The best way to learn how something works is to learn to do the job. You can't learn everything in books. 

Donny complains about some designs the draftsmen give him because they don't work. Sometimes the blueprints are wrong and the draftsmen have to redraw them. He thinks, if they had to help build the machines, they would understand their designs better. Some designs won't work. If the blueprints are wrong they have to tear down whatever they just built and redo it. That's not easy when you have to cut metal with a blowtorch. 

I believe Colt will be a better boss and understand his job better if he learns good, honest, hard work. That's why I encourage Colt to work with Scout when he can.

We pick on Colt and give him a hard time but we are so proud of him. He's a fine young man and lots of fun to be around. That's why I'm going to miss him so much.

AS ALWAYS

PIO