These are from back in my home-building days. Some colorful characters.
I was in the office late one afternoon, and a roofer stopped by to tell me something or drop off a key. It was August, in Florida. I used to joke that there is good news and bad news about the weather in Florida. The good news is that a typical summer day is a low of about 80 degrees fahrenheit, and high of about 92 degrees. It rarely gets warmer than that. The bad news is it gets like that in April and doesn't cool off until November. So the roofer had spent a long hot day in the sun. I commented that I didn't know how we got people to do what he did, and was glad that someone did it. His response gave pause, "where else can a convicted murder make as much money as you do?" He had served his time, and found work that made it possible for him to have a stable life, own a home, drive a reliable truck, have a family if he wished. He was not the only former felon on the the job site, one of the best drywall finishers I ever worked with, wore his prison uniform to work in, he said it reminded him to be careful what he did so he could remain free. His other secret was that he used beer to thin the plaster, he believed the alcohol made it dry faster.
I was walking a jobsite one morning and asked about the big-tall-blond framing carpenter that had been on the crew and I hadn't seen for a few weeks. He was good, he was fast, and he was very easy to look at. The answer surprised me. "They convicted him of the arson, but not the murders." Apparently he put his clothes, television, and motorcycle in his pickup truck, drove down the gas station and filled two cans with gasoline (on video - with witnesses - paid for with his credit card) and shortly there after his house burned to the ground, with forensic evidence that the fire was set intentionally, the empty gas cans were found in the rubble, along with two bodies. But there was no evidence connecting him to the bodies, who were deceased before the fire started. The Jury convicted on arson, acquitted on the murder charges. He was a looker, I bet he was popular in prison. A real shame, he was a good carpenter.
I have always been a talker, striking up conversations with those around me, interested in hearing about people's lives. And I have met some interesting people along the way
In 1971, I spent summer working as an asslstant to a professional roofer in Durham, NC. we were putting a new tar and gravel roof on a huge tobacco warehouse. I also spent the summer of 1974 in Florida. NC was hotter.
ReplyDeletePeninsular Florida is cooled by the ocean breezes, inland get hotter.
DeleteI love a life filled with characters. My circle is very colorful to say the least.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe the blond carpenter got out of the pokey and went into porn? I'd still need to work with his hands and tools!
The research to see if he did, could be exhausting,
DeleteOh, the stories people tell. Our friend's father burned down their house for the insurance money. The father removed all his personal belongings from the house before setting the fire. Our friend, 6 at the time, and his mother lost everything. The father was in prison (again) for something else 30 years later when we were told the story.
ReplyDeleteThere was a guy near my parents who was served with divorce papers, cleaned out the house, cancelled the insurance, the house was paid for, and torched the house. He had talked with a lawyer, he cancelled the insurance so he was not committing insurance fraud. What he was convicted off was setting off 100 acre wildfire in the national preserve that the house backed up to.
DeleteI worked with a woman once whose son was a murderer. As a teen, he killed his grandma (my coworker's mom) and once he got out of jail as an adult, killed his girlfriend shortly thereafter and went back to prison.
ReplyDeleteTragic for the family and the person. We sometimes call it "the correctional system" but it fails to treat or help people change behaviours.
DeleteJaw still dropping. My line of work had an entirely different sort of colorful people.
ReplyDeleteI met a few of your characters. Higher Education needs more Doc Spos.
Delete"They convicted him of the arson, but not the murders."
ReplyDeleteThat is a fabulous line.
Even a guilty man deserves a strong defense, otherwise they are convicted of things they didn't do.
DeleteThere are a lot of colorful characters out there. You just have to listen a bit to their stories.
ReplyDeleteI need to talk less and listen more.
DeleteGood for you for doing so! Many people fear doing this yes nearly always the other finds this welcome.
ReplyDeleteI just need to listen more and talk less.
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