concrete

[dragonlady7]

So Mrs. K (Dave's mom) is getting an extension put on her driveway, and a patio poured while she's at it.
This guy Jim is doing it. She called him up because her friend MaryAnn had a driveway done by him four years ago that still looks brand new. MaryAnn called this guy up because a friend of hers had a driveway done by him four years before that, that still looks brand new now. So this Jim, he knows what he's doing.

He's sixty-two and has... fewer teeth than many. He's retired. He does this kinda thing on the side. He started working with concrete when he was 14.

He's been around, on and off, setting things up, for a couple of weeks. This week he did all the prep work, with his brother Richie, also retired, and their brother Angelo (or was it George?), who has some free time.

Today they're pouring, so he called in some extra help-- all younger guys, who still work. But they do concrete work, for other people, and usually work of that type is done earlier in the day. So they all got out around three, and then came over with the concrete truck around four.

There are six or seven guys here. It's Jimmy's two brothers, his godson, his son, his nephew, and his son-in-law. All Italian-Americans. The brothers call one another "Brother". Mrs. K. is "the little lady" and Jim gave her a rosary just to be friendly. He's very amusing.

So I guess this is all kind of a typical Buffalo experience. For some reason, concrete guys are almost always Italian. (Though Mr. K. did some concrete work when he was young, and he wasn't.) And you know, you can trust family better than anybody else.

Anyway. They're doing a fabulous job. If any of you are in Buffalo and need some concrete poured, I know a guy who'll do it for you, and he's good, and not expensive.