Building the Fence 7/31/04

I tap a large nail into the side of the fence post and rest one end of a redwood 2 x 4 on it. I hold the other end up to a second post. I check the level and nail the board to the post. It's a carpenter’s trick for nailing boards when you don’t have someone to hold up the other end for you. Over the summer, I used this trick a lot.

"I can’t work with you," he said. "You make everything twenty times more complicated than it needs to be."

I play this over in my head. I hear his voice. I see his face. I watch him as he walks away.

I check the top rail of the fence to see if it's level. It’s off by a quarter of an inch. I put the board down beside the post and try to pull the nail out with my fingers. It's in too far. I pry it out of the post with a claw hammer, move it down a quarter, then up an eighth, then a quarter.

This is taking too long. I need to work faster. Just nail it in, just not so deep.

I tap the nail into the side of the post. Gently this time. I rest the far end of the 2x4 on it. I check the level. It’s off by nearly half an inch. Then the nail falls out and the board drops to the ground at my feet.

“You make things twenty times more complicated” plays back in my mind like a song you can’t stop singing to yourself.