Necessity is the Mother of Intervention: Part I

I suppose it was inevitable that I would find my way into construction. My A.D.D. nature had a propensity towards creating rather than destroying. No, that part I kept for my liver and small pieces of my soul.

18 years old and 3 months out of high school found me working as a mason tender for a construction company in Northern Michigan. The hours were long, the language was salty, and the company I kept was irreplaceable. Bricklayers are their own special breed and I was in the presence of pedigrees.

"Kid, put down my fuckin' trowel and get me some fuckin' mud!!!"

I adopted many nicknames during my tenure, few of which actually contained portions of my birth name. There's no use fighting a nickname, as it only drives the creator to ensure it is used more frequently. Besides, there is a condition that exists amongst men when it comes to insults and name-calling. It is our nature to verbally abuse one another in order to show affection. The more insults, even the ones approaching taboo subjects, is a direct indication of how much you are liked by said people. I must have been loved at this job because the obscenities and requests for additional material precluded with "you little cocksucker", came in a constant stream.