DIY

"Gentlemen, I want to thank you all for coming here today".

The morning rain was on the wane and sunlight was filtering down upon the structure that was our mission to raze. We were indeed a rag-tag team of demolition wannabes. Two Datsun pickups, a Volkswagon convertible, and a very rusted dump truck had converged at the job site. Mick had brought the arsenal of implements we would need to perform the task at hand. Three sledges and a fine assortment of crowbars were piled in the bed of his truck. I had found a wooden ladder under the old house and it now stood upright against the tin roof. Several rungs were missing but this agile team was willing to accept any challenge. Fred reached into his Beatle and retrieved a well rolled joint from the glove compartment. Awareness is essential to any job, so we all took our turns at inhalation.
Safety is important. Footwear is required at the work site. Yes, indeed each and every one of us had our flip-flops on.
The plan of action was to remove the metal roofing first.
"Bye the way guys, there is a cooler of beer in the back of my truck". It would get hot and hydration was important.
Mick and I were first up the ladder. He gave me an in-depth, on-the-job training example of correct crowbar technique. With an accurate hammer attack the claw of the bar surrounded the roofing nail. He nimbly applied arching pressure and with little resistance the nail was removed. We assumed our positions and zig-zagged our way up the first sheet. Nails slid down and off the roof. This was fun. At the ridge each of us smiled as we engaged the only two remaining nails. Seconds later the sheet we stood upon disengaged and both it and we slid to the ground.
LESSON # 1_____move to the other side when removing the last nails.
"I think we need a beer".
The rest of the day moved quickly along and the once there house was became a twisted pile of members. Our band of disassemblers, with a few cuts and bruises, and covered head to toe with termite shit, had accomplished the mission.
We toked more joints, made another beer run, then called it a day.
Tomorrow, the dump in Makawao would ingest the remains.