The Farm

“Can you hand me a board?” asked Craig. “Sure” replied Dale. He turned to a stack of boards on a table and grasped one at the far end, pulling it forward until it tilted and slid to the ground. “Here you go” he said as he slid the board around towards Craig. Craig took the board and aligned it to the wall, noting the location of the studs. He picked up a hammer and nails and with Dale holding the board began nailing it in place.

“How did your grandfather die?” asked Dale. “Mesothelioma” replied Craig. “He started working overtime at a plant nearby about the same time as he finished this barn. A couple of years later he was sick. I think he wanted to build a farm”. “Well it looks like a pig sty” said Dale. “It went into disrepair after he was sick” said Craig. "I think we can make it look o.k. or functional as a barn.

The barn was dilapidated. Vines had grown along the sides and various sized branches laid on the roof. The paint was peeling showing bare wood that degraded in many places to the opposite side and the main door had fallen, laying flat on the ground. The interior was in similar shape. The floor was almost gone showing open soil and half the paneling had expanded, warped and dislodged from the nails at various places. However, a loft in the rear was holding it’s weight and the unpainted wood looked to be in good condition as well as the access ladder. The barn was capable of holding itself up and the sun provided good light to the interior through holes in the roof allowing Craig and Dale to work without lighting.

“The panels can be good for now” said Craig, “I’d like to see what we can work on from the loft to fix the roof.” They made there way into the loft and began examining some of the holes in the roof. “This could take a while” said Dale. Craig agreed. He planned to repair the barn in about a week, but it seemed it could take longer. The barn was in bad shape. After removing sections to replace he would often find the need for additional repairs and making trips for supplies could take half a day. In addition, Craig was a truck driver and his broker had been calling daily to pick up loads. He felt he could place some amount of priority to fixing the barn and had ignored some of the calls.

“ROUGH, rough rough” Dales dog, who had been exploring the area, began barking. Craig and Dale looked at the barn entrance where two young men in white button shirts, colorful ties and black pants stood. “Its the church” said Dale as he began descending the ladder to greet the visitors. He spoke for about 30 seconds before one of the men shouted to the loft, “Hi Craig, is it o.k. to return tomorrow to help”? “That's fine” replied Craig. Good news he thought, with assistance repairs could take a week or less than a week.

The repairs were fast and allowed time to make modifications. The exterior was finished and small wooden fences and gates placed on the interior. The barn looked better and capable of housing farm animals. Craig planned to put his job on hold and begin stocking it with chickens and pigs. There was also a lake in the back that could provide water to support crops. As a truck driver Craig had a constant change of scenery, while starting a farm could be a change in his lifestyle.