The old warm the soul

I DECIDED to tackle a home improvement recently that had become irritatingly necessary – some concreting work.

I grew up in Brisbane and now live with my wife in Kelso, my dad has been retired from the building game for some time and now lives by himself on the Sunshine Coast.

I had told him of the project I was about to undertake and he offered to come up and give me a hand.

I thought about his offer for a couple of days and although I believed I could handle the task by myself took him up on the offer, because I don’t get the chance to spend much time with him.

I shouted him a sleeper on the train as he doesn’t think much of flying.

We spent a pleasant Father’s Day together going to Mass in the morning, had some fish and chips for lunch, drove along The Strand and made a brief visit to the casino and quickly did our dough, taught a lesson for gambling on a Sunday.

We then got to work. The next couple of days we prepared the site for the slab.

Given that he is now 86 I tried to cottonwool him but his persistence made me include him. We dug the ground, removed the soil, levelled the crusher dust, and put in the mesh.

As I was drilling the dowel he gently reminded me that when he was young they didn’t have electric drills, they did it by hand.

The day of the pour I put dad on the shovel and my neighbour Ben, who had just got home from work, on the wheelbarrow.

The concrete truck could not get into the area where we needed it and I was responsible for the screeding and finishing of the concrete.

It took us about 30 minutes to spread and level the concrete and the concrete truck driver stood back and observed.

At the end of the pour the concrete truck driver remarked in a low tone but ensuring everyone could hear: “The old guy goes all right.” This warmed my heart and I think dad’s too, both knowing that the mind and body is deteriorating.

The children keep you young, the handicapped humble and the old warm the soul.

PETER GEARY,

Kelso.