Although most of us are paid to accomplish something during the day, few would survive the grind if it weren’t for an occasional belly laugh. Whether or not laughter is a healthy part of a functional work environment has been fodder for endless studies. But if ever there was a need for comic relief, we see the construction industry as center stage. From the private etchings of the elusive porta-potty poets to the guys who can’t keep their personal lives personal, you don’t usually have to wait long between laughs.
One of the most entertaining things to experience on a job site is watching out the window while a leaf-green sales representative drives on to the site in his Geo Metro anxious to peddle his wares. You revel in his first steps from his bucket of bolts as his hushpuppies and argyle socks are awash in mid-March mud. His freshly pressed pleated Dockers are baptized with sludge. The wind whips his blow-dried hair into a Bozo-the-Clown frenzy, while his shoulders hunch forward in an effort to brace himself for his presentation and all the wisecracks that he hoped would stay at the breakfast table with his kids.