It's quite empowering, heavy equipment ... gives you a sense of omnipotence to some degree ... not many years ago mankind had a constant struggle against the elements, and the memory is fresh, perhaps more so in the sort of people who tend to operate equipment ... with enough weight of iron behind you, and some sturdy diesel horsepower and quality hydraulics - hey, no problem.
Early in my career as an contractor i was doing bridge and culvert repair/construction on a job, and the adjacent landowner wanted a road built into some timber, up a steep sidehill ... i offered him a price which he snapped at [way too low], and managed to winch and manhandle the machine to the top of the hill, and build it from the top down [small machine, and gravity helps], with a minimum of illegal blasting [no blasting ticket] ... didn't net a profit really, but finding myself able to do this was a very empowering experience.
Then - the guy didn't pay ... put me off a few weeks, then wrote a cheque that bounced ... he was stiffing other people at this time [long story, he was a young heir blowing an inheritance] ... so i took him to court, after putting a lien on the land ... not only did i win, but i got laughs out of the judge ... this was even more empowering, a real confidence builder.
One lesson i took from it - The people are harder than the work. |
