Friday Night in Gaylord

Since I haven't been anywhere exciting in a week - some would say for at least a month - I stumbled across something I wrote in November 2003. Enjoy.

Went to Timothy’s Pub and sat next to this guy that looked like he’s my age. Obviously a regular, just like everybody else in there. Though everybody else had beards and/or flannel shirts and smoked like chimneys he looked like a clean-shaven, short hair, successful businessman. Turned out he worked for the State of Michigan Highway Dept. – mostly outdoors. Guess he dresses up on Friday Night.

Of course it’s blowing snow outside (19 degrees, 9 degrees windchill), and I’ve already wondered how anybody works outside during the winter much less this beautiful fall weather – yep, the locals are saying it’s still fall – guess because the ground’s not covered with snow and all the cars at the car dealers are still visible, though I’m thinking in the morning that theory will be over. Anyway, when he found out I was in town working for an oil company, he started talking about what the roads are made out of in Michigan. Bituminous, not concrete. Much better to handle the weather conditions. I just nodded my head, like that was a good thing. For all I know those roads are made of marble, though I figure if this guy says bituminous, it must be bituminous.

Later, a much older man comes in and sits on the other side of the highway man. He’s wearing a red jacket with U.S. flag emblem on it, with a red cap with a cross and some kind of church logo on it. The Highway Man proudly introduced him as “the guy who worked on the Mackinaw Bridge when it was built – an iron worker.” I asked when the bridge was built and was informed the mid-50’s, or approximately the same time I played my first baseball game for the Bums vs. the Boogers in the Salvation Army Summer League.

So, the iron worker proceeds to tell me he is the ONLY guy to work on both constructions of the Mackinaw Bridge. Seems his son is the president of the local hall (that’s union talk) and he invited him to work on the “workover” of the bridge two years ago. Kind of an honorary position. Though he wanted to do more while working on the bridge, the young guys kept telling him to get out of the way. He complained about OSHA and how they now have to wear safety belts and harnesses and have nets underneath them. Of course this slows them down, and besides “we didn’t have any more accidents in the 50’s than they have now.”

In the mean time the Highway Man tells me about his trip to Dallas around 1980, or approximately the time that we were shoving chocolate cake down Kristin on her first birthday. He says he was in some bar on Regal Row and that when people found out his name was Hagman women started flocking around him and buying him beers. Sounded like one of his personal highlights. Of course it was at that time I had to tell him he had the Hagman and I had the Larry.

By now, I knew it was time to go. Back out in to the frigid air and blowing snow. But more in tune with my roads and bridges.