Chapter 2: Summer

For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion? This also is vanity and a great evil

For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath labored under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 2: 21-22

May 1950

Hal sat in his pickup truck, looking at the sky. The approaching black clouds told the story, and for emphasis they rumbled with thunder as the wind blew up the dry dust. Workmen scrambled to stow their tools ahead of the storm. A flash of lightning lit the sky. Hal got out of the cab to check the tarp that covered the supplies in the bed of the truck, and then got back in to wait out the storm.

He knew that it would only be a few minutes before the summer storm turned the dirt road of the new housing tract into mud. It was only two in the afternoon and work for the day was over. He wondered if Mr. Stanton would understand.

As he mulled the possibilities a sedan pulled up beside his truck. The window rolled down. "Get in!" the driver yelled. "We'll wait out the storm together."

There would probably be a radio in the sedan; it was sure to be more comfortable than the pickup. Besides, the occupant always provided interesting news and conversation. Hal felt the first drops of rain as he ran around the front of the car and dove into the passenger's seat.

"This is gonna' be another big storm," the driver said. It was Mort Plinsky. He was a short, rotund little man. He was nearly bald and wore glasses with thick lenses and thick black frames. In the summer months it seemed like he was always perspiring.

"You're right, Mort," Hal replied. "I doubt that we'll get back to work today. What's worse is that when we have to shut down fast like this it takes a long time to get set back up again."

"Can't control the weather," Mort reminded him.

"Tell that to Stanton," Hal fired back. "It's not only the rains. Yesterday there was an accident on Route Five and the cement trucks were held up two hours. We couldn't pour any foundations and the cement hardened in the trucks. It's been one thing after another."

"Stanton's got to keep the pressure on to get these houses built," Mort said. "He can't control the weather, either, and he can't turn these houses into cash until he finishes building them. The bank's on his back, just like he's on yours."

"Yeah, I know," Hal said. "It's just been hard to keep things movin'."

Hal and Mort worked for Stanton Builders. The company specialized in building starter homes in suburban tracts for returned soldiers who were taking brides and wanted to start families. Hal was the Construction Foreman in the new tract. He'd started with Stanton a few years before as an Assistant Foreman and had done well. Old Man Stanton figured Hal's Sergeant's Stripes from his Army days taught him how to move men on the job. It was more-or-less true.

It was a new kind of home building—assembly-line style. It was the only way to keep up with demand. There were only a few designs from which to choose. The builder put them together street by street, not waiting for a buyer; there were buyers enough. The main thing was to get them built as fast as possible so that sales could be closed and more debt retired. Delays meant no cash and nervous bankers.

"How long've you been with Stanton?" Hal asked. The rain continued to fall. In fact, it was pouring harder.

"Not too long; three years. I started with him on the Rolling Meadows project and then he asked me to come over here to Whispering Woods. Before that, I worked as a realtor in the city."

Mort was the sales agent for the tract. He was older than Hal by thirty years. His job was to show the models to prospects, help them with their mortgage applications and then close the deal.

"This rain will make these dirt roads useless," Hal complained. "I'm supposed to get a load of cement blocks for the basements for units forty-five and forty-six. The truck won't even try to get down here until the road dries out."

"It doesn't help me much, either," Mort added. "Just try and convince a housewife that someday it will all be green grass and paved streets once the tract is done. Then, they look out the front window and see half the front yard being washed down the street and their shoes covered with mud. Good luck! It just kills the deal."

"I told Stanton that he should pave the roads when the project starts. It would take care of a lot of problems," Hal told him.

Mort shrugged. "He probably doesn't have the money to do that. It would help me, too. The faster these things get up, the faster we close. I don't get paid until the closing. Most people want to be in before the end of the summer. If they sense a delay, they'll buy into a different development."

"He'd save a lot of money in the long-run," Hal repeated.

"He's set in his ways. He's been in the building business a long time, but this style of doing it is new for him, too. He has a lot to think about."

The cement blocks weren't delivered until the following afternoon. The sky threatened rain again. Hal noticed the workers looking at the sky anticipating the deluge.

"Keep working!" Hal barked at the men. "You'll have plenty of time to get under cover."

The coming rain was a certainty. Hal only hoped he could finish laying the cement blocks for the south wall of unit forty five and finish the framing of unit thirty-eight. The men were working hard enough; it was hard to keep their minds off the weather. When the rain cut their hours short, they suffered, too. The bad weather was taking its toll on the schedule. In the morning he'd have to go to the Company office to get overtime approved.

As the storm approached Hal was about to jump into his pickup again. He spied Mort's car making its way to where he was, so he waited.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Mort said.

"I wish we could," Hal agreed. "I thought you'd stay down at the model where it's nice and dry."

"I came up here to talk to you," Mort informed him.

"To tell me we're falling behind more?"

"Well, you are, aren't you?"

"It's not that bad," Hal pointed out. "The finish carpenters are still working on unit twenty-eight and the plumbers and electricians are in thirty-two."

"Be honest," Mort insisted.

"Alright, maybe we are. We're doin' all we can. I'm goin' down to see Mr. Stanton tonight to see about some overtime for Saturday."

"And what if it rains on Saturday?" Mort asked in a way that irritated Hal.

"I don't know! We'll just have to keep trying."

"Well, calm down already," Mort said to him. "I know a way we could keep working whether it rains or not."

"Once we get the roofs on we can..."

"I don't mean that. I mean something really different," Mort said.

"Whaddya mean?"

"What if you had an area set aside to store cement blocks, and other things that you know you'll need, instead of having special deliveries for each unit? Late shipments wouldn't hold you back."

"Yeah, I see," Hal admitted.

"There's more," Mort said. "If you had a building with enough space you could precut a lot of the framing members ahead of time and you could put the framing carpenters to work doing that when it rained. It would save a lot of time on the site."

"Then they could just put the pieces together instead of cutting each one as they go," Hal added.

"See? Now you've got it," Mort chimed in with glee.

"We'd have to get all the framing members in the drawing numbered so we could label them. That would be easy enough."

"You'd have to keep track of how many you'd need and how many you made," Mort said.

"Mort, that's great!" Hal turned and said. "D'ya think Stanton would go for it? We'd be caught up in no time and actually get ahead of Ace Builders down the road."

"He might," Mort said. "You've got to convince him."

"What—why me," Hal protested. "You should tell him. It's your idea."

"Naw—that's okay," Mort replied. "You tell him. Tell him you thought of it."

Hal paused before answering. He sensed something wrong in the older man's tone. Maybe it was the way he looked away after he spoke.

"I don't get it, Mort. It's your idea. You should go to Stanton."

"No, you go," Mort mumbled. "You lay it out for Stanton—and be sure to tell him you thought it up."

"What're ya talkin' about, Mort? You should get the credit. Besides, how can I explain your idea as well as you?"

Mort squinted at Hal from behind his black-framed glasses. "Just do it, Sonny. Take the whole thing with my blessing. Tell Stanton it was you who thought it up."

"It's not fair, Mort. It's not fair at all and I don't get it. We both know this will work andwhen that happens no one will know..."

"Look, kid, that's real nice but facts are facts," Mort sighed. "To Stanton, I'm just an Old Jew. He would never trust me or even listen. All I want are my commissions and I'll never get 'em if something isn't done to get these damn houses built faster."

"No, no," Hal protested. "I know Stanton. He's not like that. We'll go see him together."

"Stanton's alright; at least he's no worse than anyone else. It's an age and a way of thinking. Listen, if I were to go to Stanton with you, he wouldn't listen to either of us. I know what I'm talkin' about."

"But Mort, I can't..."

"Can't? Can't what? You not only can, you've got to," Mort cried. Then he lowered his voice. "Look, kid. You're young; you want a career, promotions, glory. None of that's for me. What's an Old Jew want but his commissions?"

The rain had let up; the sun was coming out. It gave both men an excuse to look out the window, away from one another and the unsatisfying standoff.

"Your family; kid, if you won't do it for yourself, do it for your family—and my commissions, of course. Now get outta here!"

The weather the next morning was merciful. It promised to allow them to get in a good day of work. Hal arrived at the jobsite early and got the men started. They were good men, so he knew that once they got their orders that would get right to work and stay at it. That gave Hal a chance to run for supplies and get Saturday's overtime approved. There was also the task of presenting Mort's production plan to Mr. Stanton.

It was a good plan. After dinner the prior night he sat at the kitchen table roughing out an outline of the plan. He added some details, polishing the rough edges. He started feeling more confident; it soothed him to know that his hand was in it, too.

Hal sat at Mr. Stanton's desk as the company owner looked over the Requisition for Overtime Form. He said nothing; just made an 'hmmm' sound here and there and shook his head slowly every few seconds.

He was a tall, angular man with jet black hair, about a dozen years older than Hal. He wore glasses with black frames. Although he was thin, his arms were huge and when one shook hands with him it was like putting a hand in a vise—if Mr. Stanton so chose. His strength was a tribute to his days wielding a hammer and a saw. Before the war he had been a carpenter. He made a lot of money building barracks and other buildings for the military. When peace arrived he invested in the company that bore his name. Every dollar was his and that thought was always on the table.

"I guess I've got no choice, do I, Sarge?" He signed the form and handed it to Hal.

Mr. Stanton's nickname for Hal was 'Sarge'. Hal was just getting used to it. Others had picked it up from the company owner and started calling him that, as well. Perhaps it was a reminder of the reason he gave Hal the job he had. Maybe, by being the boss of a 'Sarge', it raised him to officer status. If that had been his wish Hal could have set him straight with some stories of some officers that he knew. He considered calling him 'Lieutenant' as a joke, on some occasion, to test his theory. He would, someday, but this wasn't the right time. Hal, as always, played it straight.

"This weather's been a killer, Mr. Stanton," Hal replied. "I just don't think we can let this Saturday go by without trying to catch up."

"Yes, yes," Stanton agreed, "but, you stay on 'em. If they're gonna' be at time-and-a- half, I want some progress."

"Right, Mr. Stanton. Don't worry."

Stanton turned his attention to some papers on his desk, a signal to Hal that he considered the meeting over.

"Mr. Stanton, if you've got a minute there's one more thing I want to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Stanton looked up, slightly annoyed at the break in routine. "I'm sorry. I thought we were done."

Stanton leaned back in his chair, assuming the pose of the patient patriarch.

"I was trying to figure out a way to keep the work going when we have the delays—you know—because of late shipments and weather."

Stanton sighed. "I know what you're gonna' say. The foreman before you had the same idea. It was a disaster. These guys just can't switch to finish work, even as helpers. We tried it—didn't last a month." Stanton set his jaw and crossed his arms.

"Oh, no," Hal hastened to protest. "I heard about that. This is something completely different. I made an outline last night we could go over."

Hal pulled a folded paper from inside pocket of his jacket. "I even put some rough numbers to it. It wouldn't cost that much and in the long run it would save us a lot of time."

Stanton sighed again. His look showed annoyance that he would be forced to listen to the young man, and then find a way to reject the idea.

"We'd save a lot of money in the long-run, too," Hal added.

Stanton's eyebrows raised into an arch on the last point. "Okay, then; let's hear it."

Hal recited the plan. He watched Stanton press his hands together and look at the ceiling.

"If Mort were here, he'd know how to sell this," Hal thought.

He wondered why he ever let himself be talked into going it alone. He, nevertheless, pressed on—even into the teeth of impending rejection. He laid it all out—Mort's part and his own. Finally, he was finished.

"Well, whaddya think, Mr. Stanton?"

The older man said nothing.

"Of course there are some rough edges that we'd have to smooth out," Hal conceded.

The older man drew a deep breath. "Might work," he grunted. "Are you sure you can build that workshop for the cost you said?"

"That's the easy part," Hal blurted out, feeling suddenly confident. "It's little more than a pavilion. If we grade the plot right, we won't even have to pour a floor."

"Maybe the men won't go for it," Stanton warned.

"They don't like getting sent home. They'd rather work and get paid."

Stanton nodded, unable to fault the logic.

"We've got nothin' to lose," Hal concluded.

"Alright," Stanton said, "you get that workshop built. I'll have the draftsmen mark up the drawings. We have to get moving fast if this is gonna' count for anything while we're still in the season."

"I'd like to get it started by next week," Hal said. "I'll pull two men off and get the workshop construction started."

"I'll pull the plug on this fast if I get a single whiff of a screw-up," Stanton called after Hal as he left the office.

"He'll pull the plug on me, too."

When Hal arrived at the job site he hurried straight to the model where he knew Mort would be. He liked the feeling of victory, and wanted to share it with him. During the drive over Hal christened the program the 'Precut Plan'. His head was swimming with ideas to refine the whole thing and he was calculating how long it would take them to catch up, and then how long it would take to be further ahead than they would have dared suggest a day ago.

He swung his pickup into the driveway of the model and saw Mort's car in the usual place. There was another car in the middle of the driveway, which had to mean that Mort was with a customer. Hal unloaded the supplies he had brought out to the jobsite—a few kegs of nails and a half-dozen spools of wire. They used the garage of the model to store some supplies to keep them out of the weather.

"I'll catch up with Mort later and fill him in."

He stowed the supplies in the corner of the garage and then got in his truck to check the progress on the jobsite. By the time he arrived it was lunchtime. The Paymaster had delivered the weekly checks earlier that morning, so most of the men were away at the bank. A lone figure sat on the half-finished floor of Unit Forty-Five. A black, barn-shaped lunch pail was open and Hal could see that the owner was savoring a ham sandwich. It was Steve Kowalski, a big man, as tall as Hal but wider. He had learned his trade during his wartime service. He and Hal liked each other; Hal always thought Steve was a little smarter than the rest.

"Hey, Sarge," he called out when he saw Hal walking toward him. "Overtime tomorrow?"

"I got it approved this morning," Hal answered. "A full day for everyone."

"Sounds good. Want half a sandwich?"

Hal shook his head. "No thanks, I already ate at the diner," Hal lied. "Aren't you goin' to cash your check?"

"Naw. I'll give it to the missus and she can cash it on Monday. I'd rather have some peace and quiet out here. We got a nice day for a change."

"Yeah," Hal replied. "We've got to try to catch up. This rainy weather has us way behind."

"Can't help the weather..."

"Not exactly true," Hal interrupted. "That's what I came to tell you. Stanton approved it. We're gonna' try something new. We've got an idea to beat the weather."

"If Stanton approved it, it can't cost much."

"In fact, it won't. We'll just need to do things a little different, that's all," Hal said.

Hal went on to tell Steve about the Precut Plan. As a carpenter, he was most interested in the part of precutting the framing members in the new workshop.

"You mean all the joists, the studs, everything?" he asked.

"Even the rafters with the forty-five degree ends," Hal answered. "Whaddya think, Steve? Think it might work?"

"Whew! This will be a big change. It's like building houses in a factory. Some guys will take some convincing. There's no reason why it can't work. But they won't like it at first.

"They will when they can work cutting members in the workshop when the weather's bad," Hal pointed out.

"That's what'll convince 'em," Steve agreed. "Whose idea was this, anyway?"

"Well, uh, it was..."

"It was yours, wasn't it?" Steve declared. Hal kept silent. "I just knew it. Good old GI know-how. We don't call you 'Sarge' for nuthin',"

It was late afternoon before Hal finally had a chance to look for Mort Plinsky. He drove to the model and saw his car was gone.

"Friday," he reminded himself. "He's got to get home before sundown."

He'd fill Mort in later.

After Hal got the men started off the next morning, he spent the rest of the day planning out the new workshop pavilion. He traveled the property to find the best place to put up the temporary building. He wanted a place that would be convenient to all the future building lots, but wouldn't have to be taken down until nearly the close of the project. Most of all, it would have to be on a spot with easy access to power and where the terrain could be graded for good drainage because Hal didn't want to pour a cement floor that he would have to break up later. By the time it was time to go home for the day he had begged or borrowed all the necessary lumber and materials and arranged to have footings poured.

By Monday, he had Steve and another carpenter working on putting up the simple structure. Mort didn't arrive until eleven that morning. Soon after that he had an appointment to show the model to a young couple. Hal got busy. At three in the afternoon he pulled his pickup into the driveway of the model and looked for Mort. He found him working at a little desk on the first floor.

"Well, Stanton said 'yes'."

"I figured as much when I saw the workshop going up."

"Stanton's having the draftsmen change the drawings so that all the framing members will be numbered. That way, we can mark each piece as we cut it and match it later to its location on the blueprint when we go to use it at the building site. By the time the new prints are ready, so will the workshop."

"Yeah, okay," Mort sighed. Hal was surprised by the indifferent tone.

"I think it's really going to work," Hal added. He looked at Mort, hoping to spark some enthusiasm.

"It'll work," the older man assured him. "Just stay on top of it."

"Mort, if it hadn't been for you..."

"Forget that, kid. It's your project now. I told you that last week. Now you've got to make it happen. Just be sure that Stanton appreciates what you're doin' for him."

He must have caught Mort in a bad moment. Hal was so certain that his silent partner would want to hear everything. He stiffened, resolving to let the chip fall off Mort's shoulder by itself.

"Friendship is a two-way street," he said to himself. "I won't force myself on anyone."

On Friday the Paymaster delivered the checks and carried the new prints with him. Hal spent most of the day checking them out. Later that day the electricians wired the new building and flipped the switch. They were ready to launch the Precut Plan.

On Monday morning Hal called all the framing carpenters to the workshop to explain the new plan. There was some grumbling. Just as predicted, the prospect of beating the weather out of some lost days and work hours kept most of the men on his side. Hal called Steve Kowalski aside.

"Steve, you're the right guy to run the workshop," Hal said. They decided to finish Unit Forty-Five the old way and start fresh on Forty-Six. It would avoid confusion and let them have a head start on the next unit. There were some things Hal hadn't thought of.

"We should bundle the finished pieces so that a frame segments' pieces are together and they're arranged to come out of the bundle in the order that they're going to be used," Steve told him.

Hal nodded and had to admit that he hadn't really considered that. "What do you think we should use to strap them together? We can't go out and spend a lot of money. Stanton will never go for it."

"It should also be something that I can handle by myself," Steve added.

"Reusable, too," Hal said. "Off-hand, I'm not sure what to do. Let me think about it. For right now, we'll get started. Make sure you use that wax crayon and mark each piece with the right number according to the drawing. I'll get back to you after I take care of a few other things."

Hal walked back to his pickup. It would take him until lunch to take care of everything he had to do. He thought for a moment about chasing down Mort at lunchtime. After getting the brush-off he decided to give it a rest for a few days. Not far away a forklift was unloading palletized bags of cement from a flatbed truck. He shook his head, wondering to himself what they would do without the forklift. Stanton had been reluctant to buy it, but it had proven indispensable.

"That's it!" he shouted out loud. He hurried to the workshop where Kowalski was just about to go to lunch.

"Steve, I know what we'll do about packaging the finished framing members," Hal blurted out.

"I'm all ears," Steve replied.

"We won't strap them together at all," Hal explained. "We'll build wooden cribs out of two-by-fours that are big enough to hold a whole framing segment. We'll make them so the forklift can get under it and strong enough so we can reuse it."

"Then I can put the cut pieces in the crib and the forklift can haul the thing to the building site."

"And then they'll return them when they're empty," Hal said. "Can you make them? We'll need at least two—probable three."

"Sure," Steve assured him. "Get me a requisition for materials. I'll start after lunch."

Weeks passed and the Precut Plan worked better than anyone had hoped. Hal made more improvements as the weeks passed by and the system worked even better. Whispering Woods was well ahead of schedule. Ace Builders' tract fell behind and that meant Stanton Builders got the pick of the Finish Carpenters and other inside men. That enabled Stanton Builders to leapfrog ahead even more.

"Keep up the good work!" Stanton would tell him when he visited the office from time to time. Hal preferred to be at the site as much as possible and minimize his office time. He was curious why the Old Man hadn't been out to the project at all that summer, but he never asked

"Maybe he doesn't want to jinx it," Hal thought.

Every so often Stanton would call Hal into his office and ask for a complete report. Otherwise, it was hands-off. Hal kept building the houses; Mort kept on selling them; Stanton kept counting the money. At least, that's the way Hal saw it.

Hal didn't get many opportunities to see Mort for more than a minute or two at a time during those weeks. With more units going up, Hal was in demand anywhere and everywhere. It was easy to lose oneself in the job. The company was on top—sole possessor of first place in the home construction race, and a lot of it was due to Hal. He had broken the framing logjam and that led to bigger things. It was hard work, but fun at the same time. It wasn't easy to think of anything else.

Hal did see Mort just about every day. He was always showing prospects through the models. Then he would escort them out to building lots that might 'one-day-be-theirs'. He closed a lot of sales. Many new owners had already moved into their new homes.

On no particular day Hal had just finished with the town building inspector and had the C of O for the latest unit in hand. It was located close to the model. He saw Mort sitting in his car in the driver's seat, the door open and his feet swung out on the ground. He had his customary white shirt and tie on. Suspenders held up his trousers. His suit coat was lying on the seat beside him, because Mort was never out of uniform.

To Hal it seemed that Mort sat there longer than normal and it looked like he was shaking his head. Hal tried not to guess about what was going on. He felt that Mort had taken steps to avoid him after they started getting busy—after Hal pitched the Precut Plan to Stanton.

"No reason for me to feel guilty," Hal reminded himself. "I tried to give him credit. He wouldn't let me. 'Take it with my blessing', he said, 'I just want my commissions'."

He watched and Mort just stayed seated, like his body didn't want to go to the next step in getting out of the car. Hal put his pickup in gear and drove the short distance to the model. He pulled up behind Mort's sedan.

"Hi'ya, Mort," Hal called out, "haven't seen you around in a while."

"I've been here," the older man retorted.

"Well, you look like you're stuck in that car. I came over to see what's goin' on."

"If you want to make yourself useful, you can take those boxes of sales material to my desk in the model," Mort told him.

He handed Hal the keys and he popped open the trunk. There were four boxes full of brochures. Hal hoisted the first one onto his shoulder and followed Mort inside. He set the box in a corner. Mort cascaded into his chair behind his desk. Hal made three more trips until all the boxes were inside.

"Thanks," Mort said. "I don't think I could have gotten them all up here."

"They were heavy enough, even for me," Hal replied. "I'm glad that I came along when I did."

Mort appeared winded. Droplets of sweat accumulated on his bald head like condensation on a cold glass of water. It was a warm day, but certainly not the hottest of the summer.

"I had to load them in the car all by myself back at the office," the rotund man explained.

The logic, of course, wasn't rock-solid. It was at least a twenty minute drive from the office to the site, so he should have recovered on the way. Hal decided not to press the point.

"He's sixty two and overweight. He's been working hard."

"Can I get you a glass of water?" Hal asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Mort gasped, "a glass of water would be good."

"We need to take it easy in this hot weather," Hal admonished as he set the water in front of him.

"What's to take easy?" Mort scoffed "The houses need to be sold. There's no time to take it easy now. Maybe—when the season's over."

Hal looked at Mort, who was starting to recover and caught himself before he shook his head. He poured himself a glass of water, too, and sat in a chair across the desk from him.