It’s easy to tell that it’s summertime here. You can’t get from here to there in any logical way. You have to go out of your way.
Then you sit in a line of cars waiting for a gorgeous flagman to signal your turn. You are allowed to proceed at two miles an hour through the construction area which seems to encompass two states both the size of Texas.
Ach!
I hate it. Patience isn’t my strong suit and dawdling in a car isn’t my favorite pastime.
However, and that’s a big however, there is one interesting thing about road construction. That is the guys who work it.
An interesting job might be interviewing men for construction jobs.
“Sir, can I see your muscles please?”
The qualifications eliminate the weak and the old. You have to be able to carry heavy loads, work in all kinds of weather, withstand the noise of a jack hammer and toss cases of beer around. What self-respecting construction worker couldn’t toss a case of beer?
Have you ever noticed that they look like surfers — 20-year-old surfers? Many have sun-kissed hair that’s just a little long peeking out of hard hats. There are big smiles on tanned faces for the ladies. It’s too hot wear a lot of clothes. You can see rippling muscles sticking out of skinny tee shirts.
That’s enough to get the hormones rolling.
Of course there is another way of looking at this. I wonder what happens at age 60. Normal aging dictates that some of those muscles go south. Hair can thin or go completely south too. All that sun can give a leathery look to a man along with a rosy nose.
I know you’re thinking Clint Eastwood here but it’s not as pretty when you don’t have a makeup crew helping out.
A friend of mine had a son who was drifting after graduation. It only took one summer job as a construction helper to get him back on track. It’s not an easy job and not everyone is cut out for it. A shirt and tie and air conditioning looked pretty good.
Even with the eye candy, I prefer to get where I’m going without detours. Maybe I’m getting old.
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
I haven’t been caught in a construction slowdown lately. Next time I’ll be sure to check out the construction workers. And I’ll be thinking of you.
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🙂
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I don’t know that I notice much about what they look like but there is always one or two guys doing some kind of work and 12 or 15 standing around watching them do it.
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Yes, watching work must be as exhausting as doing it. I think there is a law prohibiting more than 2 working at a time.
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Construction is indeed everywhere these days, and it’s good to see people working hard…now if they could just scoot over a little bit to let us get by that would be great.
I always loved the construction worker guy in the Village People.
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That was my first choice for a graphic for this column but I couldn’t get the right size and clarity. Butt cracks were my second choice but I settled for a sign.
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You don’t have women on road crews? Here we have big crews–and they are all on break every time I look! I’m not saying that to be mean. It’s just a fact.
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Our township crew is like that. It’s a small township with a small crew but it takes them ages to get anything done. There will be 6 guys and only 2 are working. Other than flaggers, there aren’t a lot of women in construction here. Maybe closer to the bigger cities around us.
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I need to move up your way, Kate, our crews are often a scary bunch. It sounds as though you don’t need a sign to tell you to go “Slow” while cruising through road work. 🙂
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The interstate projects get a little more scary but the locals are mostly college kids with some seasoned workers thrown in. The kids are mostly flaggers which is what you see up close.
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Hmmm, our road workers are a scary bunch of older men & women who look like they’re two days out of lockup. I fear them on a primal level. And try not to make eye contact as I drive by. Your road crew sounds much better… eye candy, you say?
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You are the second blogger that said they look scary. Maybe I am so intrigued with the flaggers I never really look at the hulks doing the real work.
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My goodness Kate – I can see I need t emigrate east of here and drift towards your part of the world immediately! Most of our road workers tend to be at the latter end of their careers – if you get my southward drift here – nothing to alleviate the boredom of crawling slowly along at all. I am heartened to know the summertime road construction is a global affair – we get to enjoy the whole palaver while coping with the pre-Christmas rush also. It can tend to try the patience of a saint.
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Usually the flagmen are really young guys and sometimes women. The supervisors with the white hats are usually closer to the 60ish guys. At least we get it for vacation time and not shopping season.
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Enjoy the view!
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Not as good as beach view but we take what we can get.
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So so funny and so so true!
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and sometimes so painful!
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