Friday, November 8, 2013

Last Ride

Summers during my collegiate years, I dug graves. No, I didn't like them, I actually dug them! I worked at the largest cemetery in the city and one of the oldest in New England. Over 5 years, I had lots of jobs. I pushed a lawnmower for 8 hours, ran a weed whacker, tooled around the acres on a riding mower, cleaned grave stones and many days rode around keeping the foreman company. But without a doubt, if you wanted the hours to race by, duty on the grave crew was the place to be. You see, since many of the sites were very old and unstable or a tight squeeze for the backhoe many of the holes had to be dug by hand. From marking out the site to getting the concrete vault into place took just under 4 hours. Was shoveling for 3 hours with a partner hard work? You betcha! We partnered up-- two shovelers in the hole at a time, 20 minutes or so at a shift. At the very end, when only your head was visible, there was only room for one of us at a time. When I 'rode' on the truck, I was the youngest of the crew and became the butt of many jokes. However, with all the stories tossed around by the old timers, some of the unique situations we faced and items we found, they were some of my most memorable days.
Could ya dig it?
I did!

12 comments:

  1. At least you know the "business" when the day comes ...
    PS A New Graveyard on my site this time - a coincidence?

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  2. Quite an experience! Not one that I would dig!

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  3. I bet that was fun. I spent my summers in college working on a roustabout crew in the oilfields of west Texas. I heard, saw, and learned many things not taught in any college.

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  4. Surely a great time in your life, a very unic experience!

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  5. i do believe that was a fun time for you.

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  6. As close as I came to a graveyard was having a friend who dug graves at a pet cemetery. He also had some stories to tell. My summer jobs were less physically demanding.

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  7. And here I thought being a paperboy was a bad job.

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  8. My younger days were spent working for a carpenter and for a brick mason. Hot tiring work that convinced me I wanted a college education.

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  9. I am impressed. My paternal great grandfather was a grave digger.

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