Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1195821
38 • JANUARY 2020 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Just Like the Good Old Days? Now Hold on a Second … BY STEVE SAUCERMAN Through no effort of my own, I ended up belonging to a singular group of society that saw their profes- sional careers arc in an almost perfect trajectory with the PC revolution – from mid-70s to present. I'm 62 now, semi-retired, wildly handsome, and seated in front of the best home com- puter money can buy if by "money" we mean "not more than $500 includ- ing monitor." Prior to retiring, I was in build- ing construction. It was an adventure lasting 44 years. I started out in build- ing materials, gravitated to residential construction (first field, then office) and then capped it all off with a quar- ter century in commercial general construction, working primarily as a cost estimator and project manager. It was a great run. Today, however, I'm trapped in conversation. It's with an old cohort of mine, roughly the same age and who happens to share a similar career path as my own. The current status of our discus- sion is disagreement. The topic divid- ing us is "the impact of computers and automation (CA) on the building construction industry. Generally speaking, I'm pro CA, while my comrade (we'll call him Earl because that's this name) likes to opine and lament over the "horri- fying and apocalyptic carnage CA is inflicting on our once venerable in- dustry." Though acknowledging some benefit, he says the digital age we live is slowly eroding our culture and tak- ing away from "what it means to be a builder." "Oh pleeease, dooo continue," I jibe, egging him on. Memory Lame He begins with his grandfather. He always begins with his grandfa- ther. Grandpa was a carpenter – not like today's carpenters, mind you. Gramps was a real carpenter, those rugged, calloused gladiators who didn't mind getting dirty and seldom complained! These were men (women didn't exist back then) who knew what they wanted and who didn't mind putting in an honest day's work to achieve that end! I mouth the words along with Earl as he speaks. These men were warriors who worked with their hands, never knew cell phones, and toiled from sunup to sundown to provide for their families and build this great, great country! My leg has fallen asleep, which I hate because now it will be up all night. These guys were craftsman in the purest sense of the word. They didn't have CNC routers and laser cutters to make them look good. Their work came from the heart! They could sculpt crown molding from green logs and dovetail drawer bodies with noth- ing more than a butter knife! I ask why Grandpa wasn't smart enough to use a chisel instead of a butter knife, but Earl refuses to ac- knowledge my existence. Today, our whole industry is an assimilated bunch of office-dwelling, flash-driving geeks pounding away at their laptop keys and clicking away at their mouses (mouse's? mice? mees- es?). And don't even get me started on those spinny, shiny drones flying all over God knows where! Gag Me with a Spoon from Grandpa's Toolbox I follow up my previous ques- tion to ask if Grandpa's co-workers thought it unusual for him to keep butter knifes in his toolbox. I wonder aloud if Grandpa ever thought to seek professional help for his cutlery ob- session. No response. Apparently, I am no longer in the room. Earl rails on for another 20 minutes or so and covers a variety of topics ranging from a man's word, walking rafters in sub-zero weather, and the benefits of using a box joint over "those damn biscuits"! It's a heartfelt diatribe interwoven with selective sentiment, chronologi- cal snobbery, and smatterings of big- otry. Then the big finish. Earl pauses for effect, sighs softly and – staring into a horizon only he can see – pro- claims "It sure isn't like the good ol' days." That's my cue. I begin my rebut- tal with a story of a business trip I BUILDING A SOLID PARTNERSHIP WITH DOORKING OPERATORS Together, Pro Access Systems and DoorKing provide durable, maintenance-free, aluminum gates and reliable gate operators. Contact us for all of your access control needs. AT L A N TA ( 7 7 0 ) 9 5 5 - 4 4 11 C H A R LOT T E ( 7 0 4 ) 3 1 3 - 0 3 0 0 C H I CAG O ( 6 3 0 ) 4 2 6 - 0 0 2 2 D E N V E R ( 3 0 3 ) 2 8 8 - 1 7 0 0 TA M PA ( 8 13 ) 8 8 1- 12 0 0 Your single source provider of gates, access controls, operators, hardware and support. Visit ProAccessSystems.com. SLIDE GATES | SWING GATES | CRASH GATES | CUSTOM GATES AND FABRICATION access control needs. BUILDING A SOLID PARTNERSHIP WITH DOORKING OPERATORS BUILDING A SOLID PARTNERSHIP WITH continued on page 42