The Ditch Witch is a %itch!
It all sounded like a good plan in the beginning. My daughter and son-in-law decided to convert their pool to a salt water chemistry, and thereby reduce their operational costs and pool maintenance workload. I didn’t even know that was a thing, salt water pools, but I guess it is and a real growing trend. I’m good with that. Of course, the new approach requires new filtering equipment and heating system, with in turn required a new 2-inch natural gas line be buried from their existing meter on their home and extending it about 240 feet to their new pool equipment structure. No problem.
In an effort to reduce the capital investment required for the pool conversion, we formulated a plan to rent a piece of equipment called a trencher. We would use the trencher to excavate a 6-inch-wide trench, 24 inches deep from point A to point B, 240 feet away. We would then install the plastic coiled thick gas line pipe, overlay some metallic wire to allow for future location with a metal detector and backfill the trench. Make the connections on each end and “ta-da”, we would be good to go swimming. My younger son-in-law was recruited to join in the adventure and the three of us would knock this project out in a few hours.
Oh, GOOD GRIEF! First leadership Lesson of the Day, nothing is ever as easy as it seems on paper. That being the case, it is a rare day when the original timing set forth in any plan is realized. Put in an adequate buffer and plan on everything taking longer than it should.
Just renting the machine was a pain. The first stop, at a local hardware store where I have rented such a machine before, did not have it available. It was broken by the previous renter, and it was out for repair. Strike one. Then I traveled to another rental business to try my luck there. They had a beauty of a machine for rent, so I stood in an endlessly long line and arranged to rent it. After taking care of the rental contract, we tried to load the machine on a trailer, and wouldn’t you know it, the trencher motor would not start. Nice. They worked for a long time trying to get it started, but my faith in the mechanical aptitude of the young man working on the machine, and the prospect of hauling it out to the property and not being able to restart it persuaded me to give up on this one and cancel the rental. The clock was still ticking. Strike two. I then proceeded to a third heavy construction equipment rental establishment where again after patiently waiting in another infinitely long line, was able to rent a Ditch Witch trencher, load it on the trailer, lash it down tight and haul it to the job site. Now we are cooking.
Not exactly. While we had established the route to dig the trench, and after Miss Digg had marked all of the utilities we needed to avoid, the trenching commenced. All was going fine until we entered an area in front of the house that was nearly impossible to excavate. It had obviously been backfilled during the construction of the house many decades ago, and it was strewn with rocks, from base ball sized to basketball sized. Trenchers are designed to dig through dirt, but they are not designed to cut through rock. Each underground encounter, and there were hundreds upon hundreds of them, resulted in the trencher either bucking wildly, throwing the engineer for a jarring experience, or being bogged down and stalled. Each one required a pick axe, spud and shovel intervention to remove the obstacle so that the trencher could once again inch along its intended route.
Second Leadership Thought of the Day, every plan will meet with unexpected obstacles and trouble. We knew there would be a few rocks along the way. We never expected the quarry full that we encountered. We perhaps should have, but we didn’t. While taking a much-needed break in the midst of the traumatic section, it seemed of little solace to my sons-in-law when I tried to explain that the rocks were a result of our fore father and mother, Adam and Eve eating a piece of forbidden fruit. I loosely quoted Genesis 3:17, “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…” Or as Job lamented, “Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward”, Job 5:7. These made perfect sense to me, but they didn’t seem all that comforting to the young men. The best laid plans need to comprehend potential major obstacles, and countermeasures to enact if and when they do come to fruition.
Which brings me to the third, and my actual Leadership Thought of the Day. When leaders are truly motivated and inspired, when they are challenged to the very edge of their ability, the great ones dig deep within themselves and find the reserve capacitance to meet the challenge, to endure the hardships and to ignore the inner pleas to quit. Regardless of the difficulties encountered, leaders stay on task, remain on mission and they prevail! You should have seen those young men toil. They were inspirational. Through the long grueling hours, progressing inch by hard fought inch, they never flagged. When we hit yet another rock, they would attack it with pick axe and spud, getting down into the trench to pry it up and heave it out of the way. There was no hiding, slacking or being mysteriously absent. They braced themselves as men, they did the work and they ultimately finished the task. Leaders do the work and they never surrender to the temptation to quit. The mantle of leadership is heavy, it is not to be placed on weak shoulders.
This last week brought headlines of the story of a 30-year-old man who was sued in court by his parents to finally force him to leave their home and strike out on his own. He battled them in court, saying that they owed him more, and that he needed and deserved to continue to enjoy the shelter they provided at no cost to him, simply because he was their child, he felt they owed him that much. Just when I was about to lose faith in humanity due to a story like this, witnessing my daughter’s husband’s strength of body and of character made me beam in delight and pride. I indeed rest easy knowing that they are men of strength and honor, and that they will love and care well for my daughters through all of their lives journeys. Despite the headlines there are many good men and women of character all around us.
Bonus Leadership Thought of the Day, today every muscle and joint in my body aches. Leaders need to know that a ditch witch is a %itch, and if you take on the assignment, you better be prepared to pay the price. At this point, I’m actually wondering how much it would have cost the have a contractor install the gas line? But then again, would I rob the boys of the rich experience we went through together? I am sure that there will be many a story of the dig retold in various hunting cabins and fireside chats in the future. That my friends, will be priceless and well worth the cost.
Stay Strong,
Terry
