Who of us has walked past some skyscraper in the midst
of construction and marveled at the technology of the event? Set aside, for the
moment, the architectural capacity to design such an instrument of modernity.
It is invariably some ground- based or roof-mounted crane which attracts and
then locks our focus. This single machine forms the nerve center, spine, and
musculature of the project. Without this device, the project would remain
countless lines canted upward on a drafting table.
As I have mentioned before, there are few, if any,
mortgages here in the village. Construction is funded out of savings. An owner
builds/improves/expands a project as cash is available. When the funds are
exhausted, the project pauses. It must sound primitive to many on the northern
side of the border. There are no high-rises here. Our tallest structures peak
at four levels and are cantilevered down the hillside. All are assembled block
by block by the nerve centers, spines and musculatures of human cranes. It is
mesmerizing to observe.
A young couple resides across the street. Two weeks
back, materials arrived in the open area adjacent to their home: rebar, gravel,
cement, solid concrete blocks. The project, the building of a second story
living space, has now been underway for roughly ten days. In that span,
virtually all the materials have been deployed. Ok, I hear you saying, no big
deal. Allow me to further explain that this project involves a total of two
workers. One is a skilled craftsman who handles every aspect once the required
materials are delivered onto the roof. The second individual functions as the
Building Materials Transportation Specialist. I observe this individual stack
three concrete blocks onto a platform, then shift the load to the crotch
created in his shoulder by extending his arm to the top of the blocks. He walks
across the yard to the rear of the house, climbs a handmade ladder (no hand
rails) to the roof and delivers the blocks to some pre-determined spot. He returns
to repeat the process again and again and again. He is clad in standard Yelapa attire:
t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. He has no steel-toed high-topped work boots, no
yellow hard hat, no gloves nor kidney-belt. There is no forklift assigned to
the heavy lifting; there is one person, a human crane. He performs this task
for seven hours per day. The following morning, he returns: lifting, carrying,
climbing, depositing.
The thought of his just compensation never enters my
mind. That is a matter between him and the owner; not my business. What I do
think about is the physical fatigue, the pain and agony which would rack every
molecule of my being from my toe nails to the hair follicles atop my head. Over
the past ten days I have grown to respect this individual immensely. When the
project pauses, I will miss the humility his presence exudes.
Commercial
Break
Summer rates are now in effect. Even bigger discounts
await those who venture into extended/multi-day rentals. Remember to keep up
with what/who is happening in Yelapa on the Yelapa Visitors FB page. Happy
paddling. memo
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