Crack On!

Howdy folks, it is Tuesday night at the Hogar Bautista. Today we got so much done onsite. I spent most of the day making cement, what a god forsaken task that is. I know why we see Caltrans dudes standing around leaning on their shovels ...because the work is so damn hard. They are sore, people! Give em a break! Seriously, my body is accustomed to a sit and type kinda life, not heaving heavy buckets. To make cement batches we take two pails of large rock, the kind that is a real pain to shovel, one bucket of cement and then 3 pails of heavy grey sand. Imagine the scene: a small rental size cement mixer, with me at the ready. Mike rojo (has red hair) if the jefe (boss) and he is in control of the mix, timing and water. When he says Go Tony and I heave two large buckets of rock into the ever-turning mouth. I then grab the bucket of cement. One false move as I approach the hungry beast and the dreaded collision of bucket and machine - a cloud of fine powder cement errupts in a cloud covering me from head to tow. This happened a few days ago and I was a ghost. I was afraid all the hair on my arms was going to set and break off. After the cement Mike adds water, and I go for the three pails of sand. With a groan like a 300 pound Hungarian Olympic dead weight lifter I hoist the bucket to waist level, then shoulder and throw it into the open mouth in one clean sweep. If lucky. Then as the dudes approach with wheelbarrows to haul it away I have to stand at the ready to keep the damn thing turning-- yes, the machine gets tired and gives up under the weight of one batch. Without human intervention it would not last the day.