DEMOLITION DAY
Today was a sunny, crisp morning in Nashville and by 8 o’clock my friend Betsy’s son Wood was beginning a hard day’s work in my back yard—demolishing the rickety old storage building. I spent the day watching, checking on the progress, and sorting through the last few items that had been left there. He finished up about 4 in the afternoon—after doing a great job!
The first photo shows Wood pondering his next step in removing the metal roof. In mid-morning a dumpster was delivered to carry away all the debris and by the end of the day, it was completely full. There was no following the script for demolition—every step of the way, Wood was improvising to adapt to the conditions of the toppling structure. Initially, he tied ropes to either side and attached them to his pick-up truck in the driveway. He moved forward until parts of the structure loosened and he could knock them down safely. I kept reminding him I didn’t have Worker’s Comp coverage!
And finally, it was down! There was much work to be done—cutting everything into smaller pieces, loading everything into the dumpster, and digging up the floor (and finding several mummified animal carcasses trapped underneath). And who knew there was another smaller version of this shed just across the back fence behind it? Now, if they will just tear that down…
There were some small treasures that it was delightful to see again! A few books, old record collections from Juanita’s house, a small cannon ball, decorative plates and baskets, pint jars (inspiring me to make some of Mrs. Isenberg’s relish soon), and a terra cotta nativity scene from South Carolina.
Today showed again the impermanence of things that were once useful, that getting rid of something obsolete opens up possibilities for creating something new, and that very small things can bring surprise and joy.
Seeing a story 