The year: 2010. The shop. Our first day back on the job, and we go in with our friend Joe Powers. First, we haul a load of scrap metal, including but not limited to, a huge compressor taken to the shop off of the Dryden Pottery. One of their denial pile contributions. The guy at Cooks gave us $50 for our effort! That is the first money we have made off the shop! Whoo hoo!
While we were at the scrap metal yard, we picked up a 50 gallon burn barrel, then swung by the fire department and got a burn permit. We gleefully returned to the shop and had a cup of coffee, and loaded up the burn barrel. Zac banged out four holes in the bottom of the barrel, and we filled it with brush that I had pulled out late last year. The fire was easy to start, thanks I’m sure to the massive amount of mysterious petroleum products that the barrel was formerly filled with. The wafts of smoke that rose up were scary, and soon the apartment complex that is about 30 feet behind the piano shop came alive. Someone opened their window and yelled out, then I hear voices, then three more faces to windows, uh-oh. I hear the distant honking of a fire truck, and I think, they are coming here. How much you wanna bet.
Betting aside, they were indeed coming to the shop, and soon a lady announced, “well, I called 9-1-1 because I thought my building was on fire!” They drove around the back, and I stood, peering out of the backyard, waiting for the fire department to appear on the street level (our backyard is somewhat of a cave with a 15 foot retaining wall to the street level). I just waited, and soon 5 firemen (so cute) came over to assess this dangerous situation. Turns out we were in the wrong, you can’t burn (even in a barrel) less than 50 feet from a structure. So the guy says he would be glad to wait while we poured water on our fire, and that would be the end of it.
We filled the trailer again with junk and took it to the landfill. This time we paid $20. All this, and I was at the doctor with the kids by 3:20. What a day.
Turns out Joe, who is one of the few people I know who likes junk more than I do, went back to the scrap metal yard and rescued a cut piano sound board piece out of the pile. He couldn’t stand it. How are we ever gonna get this place cleaned out???!!!!!