FRAMING THE DOWNSTAIRS

Clyde and his carpenters worked in a blazing August sun. It was truly amazing to see the pieces arrive on the site every few days, and be fitted together in just the right way. The right number of boards in the right sequence and the right lengths. Their nail guns sounded like an old-west gunfight. The efficiency of these men was astonishing: with one sweep of their hand they would drop the hammer into the rear holster, grab the aluminum triangle-square and the pencil, make the mark, and then return the tools to their pouches, just the way a magician moves handkerchiefs and fake flowers.