Remembering the week we put up a fence for Mrs. Henderson in the middle of a heat wave

It was July in Phoenix, hitting 112 degrees every day, and her yard was all hard clay. We broke two auger bits just getting the holes started for the cedar posts. What made it stand out was her bringing out a cooler of ice water and lemonade every two hours, saying 'you boys are tougher than the ground.' That kind of care from a client, when you're just baked and beat, really sticks with you. Ever have a small act of kindness turn a brutal job around?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviahenderson1mo ago

My uncle ran a landscaping crew in Tucson for twenty years. He always said the worst jobs got saved by the best clients. One time they were laying sod in a monsoon, just getting wrecked. The homeowner came out with a whole pot of coffee and dry towels. That kind of thing makes you remember a job for years, not the mud or the heat. It shows they see you as a person, not just hired help. Your story about the lemonade cooler is exactly that.

wyatt_shah851mo ago

Wait, you broke two auger bits? On clay? That's insane, man. I've hit some tough ground before but that sounds like concrete. I can't even imagine trying to swing a post hole digger in that heat. That cooler of lemonade must have felt like finding an oasis. Good on her for seeing how hard you were working.

kelly.daniel1mo ago

My buddy in Austin hit a limestone shelf last summer. Bent his bar so bad it looked like a question mark.