Next Please.

Days 20-21 : Purdy, MO

The heat, humidity, construction projects, bad food and me are still at camp Barnabas. I’m trying to make the most of it however the climate is definitely a “buzz-kill” when building in the direct sunlight. We mostly finished our wheelchair access platforms for the horse program but it has been difficult to complete because the camp has still decided to run the course leaving us to work around their schedule (no power tool: they scare the precious horses). Thus, we have been building all our decks off site then gathering the entire team to lift them and then cutting the supports to respective heights to level it all. As a builder – this is ludicrous. We should have set and grounded the platforms post to begin with and then built from there but in Missouri that is just ridiculous. Despite the difficulties we should be done tomorrow.

Wednesday I took a team of 10 guys to start a new project which involves demo’ing these old bridge ramps that span between two of the camps tennis courts. The two areas are at different elevations (one is about 5 feet higher than the other) and the structures were used to traverse wheelchairs at an ADA approved slope. We started building new ones which are 6ft wide instead of four and with a much more rigid hand rail and decking (the ramps have to hold upwards of a 1000lbs because an electric wheelchair with occupant can weigh an average of 700lbs. No problem…kind of. With the exception of working on tennis courts in 93 degree heat and 60% humidity.

I did have this really funny moment at lunch today. I was sitting with my adopted cabin and across from a kid named Jake who has autism. Jake hardly never speaks to me but spoke and said to me “My name is Erico Mentoez, you killed my father, now you must die…” (from the movie the Princess Bride). I almost cried laughing.

We should be finished with everything by lunchtime Thursday (cross your fingers) and soon off to St. Louis for the weekend. I’m so pumped to relax.