Lauren the Builder
by Steve West on September 13, 2022
Here’s a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between my 5-year-old daughter, Lauren, and some construction workers. I embellished it only slightly. It will make you believe that we can all make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.
We lived in a house next to a vacant lot. One day a construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty lot. Lauren naturally took an interest in all the activity going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.
Eventually the construction crew, all of them “gems-in-the-rough”, adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they had coffee and lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her feel important.
At the end of the first week, they even presented her with a pay envelope containing ten dollars. Lauren took this home to Brenda who suggested that she take her $10 “pay” to the bank the next day to start a savings account.
When they got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed and asked Lauren how she had come by her very own paycheck at such a young age. She proudly replied, “I worked last week with a real construction crew building the new house next door to us.”
“Oh, my goodness gracious,” said the teller, “and will you be working on the house again this week, too?”
Lauren replied, “I will, if those assholes at Lowe’s ever deliver the damn sheet rock.”
Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »
What Should We Name The Band?
Article offering very good advice on what not to do when choosing a name for your rock band. Go »Halloween Post #1: Too Early For Halloween?
Yes, it's too early for Halloween. However, if you plan to order or make a Go »Winch Ahoy
The fourth Sunday of each month, a local boating organization offers free sailing to children with disabilities. They're called Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB). We've been trying for months to go but stuff happened each weekend. Go »Halloween Is For The Dogs
Last year for Halloween, I took all of Lauren's stuffed dogs and sewed their mouths to parts of my shirt and pants (with fake bleeding cuts on my arms and face) and went as an attack dog trainer. This year, I need to adopt or at least rent a dog so I can dress it like this for Halloween. Holy Kibbles & Bits Or this... Go »Let's Hope The Dog Doesn't Like To Chew On Stuff
The baby's a little fussy - I know, let's give her Mom's ashes. Talk about a niche market. I expect some may find this adorable and clever, I just find it creepy. Go »
