I spent most of the daylight hours this weekend building a wooden privacy fence. My brother(and landlord), a friend of his, and I built a six foot privacy fence for my very large, very sloping, back yard. Everything is done now except for installing the gates. Once done, our dog Wendy will be able to roam free in the backyard instead of being tethered to the carport all day.

I sit here with sawdust in my eyebrows, arms that feel like wet noodles, ears that still tingle with cold, dried blood on my head, and legs that throb with a dull ache. Damn, it feels good. There is something very fulfilling about doing hard physical labor when you are actually accomplishing something. I may ache but I can look out my bedroom window and see the results of my labor. That fence will probably be here long after I've departed.

One of the downfalls of my profession is that the results aren't always there to see....at least not for a long time. A carpenter, craftsman, plumber, etc....they get the instant gratification of looking at what they have done. Nothing wrong with a little instant gratification sometimes is there?

I also enjoyed the repartee with my work mates...the dirty jokes, macho bullshitting, the laughter, the problem solving. You know, guy stuff! Working together with someone else to accomplish something is a satisfaction all its own. I can't tell you how many self-satisfieds, "that looks like a fence" I've heard or uttered in the last couple of days.

I'm an educated man. I have a master's degree and I enjoy good books, scholarly literature, and academic research. But there is a little part of me that is a little jealous of those who make a living with their hands, their brawn, and their common sense. They may see me in a suit and tie, going to an office, and think, "that guy's got it made".

Boys, I know the feeling.

|