I've Got a Lotta Hay Down

Dateline: 18 August 2014

photo link

Yesterday, after church, Marlene and I attended a surprise 50th birthday party for an old friend. It was at Fillmore Glen State Park, which is just outside the closest town to us. I don't get out much so it was something special.

My friend's name is Steve Bossard. He and I worked together for many years in the building trades. We worked for a local contractor for a few of those years, then started our own business, which we named, Bestbuilt Construction. 

Steve and I worked very hard back in the day. We had a lot of drive. We were organized, efficient and productive. In retrospect, it was a remarkable working relationship. 

So we have a  lot of good memories, but I haven't been in contact with Steve for close to 20 years. It was good to reconnect after so long, and he was truly surprised by the surprise party. His wife did a wonderful job putting it together.

I was speaking to Steve's mother at the party and asked about her other son, Randy, who I supposed would be at the party too. I wanted to talk with him about building a road across my creek and gully. He does that kind of work, and he's good at it. But when I asked, his mom said, "He's got a lot of hay down."

I never knew Randy to be a farmer, so I asked about the hay. His mother explained that he's not doing farming, he's just "got a lot of hay down." It turns out that's Randy's way of saying he's busy.

Awhile later I said to Steve that it was too bad his brother wasn't at the party. He immediately replied: "He's got a lot of hay down."

I like that phrase. It brings back memories. And I think I'll use it…

I've got a lot of hay down. 

I need to put blogging on the back burner for awhile. I'll get back to y'all this weekend.

Us Now

The picture above shows my old friend and business partner (the birthday boy), Steve Bossard, in the middle. The guy on the left is Dan Gibson. Dan worked awhile for Steve and me when he got out of the military. Dan now works in nuclear medicine. Steve is a project manager for a high-end contractor in Ithaca. Me, I'm in the chicken plucker business.

That's a fine picture except for the fact that I look so short. All three of us are actually about the same height, but we're standing on an inclined walkway. Just so you know.