Аннотация: MMMCDLIV. Plastic window installer. A drawing. - March 2, 2024.
Plastic window installer. A drawing.
That was about 10 years ago.
A bright, sunny autumn. My next birthday is coming soon.
I have paid (in advance, partially) for the installation of a new large window and I am waiting for installers who should arrive with a new window.
A car with a new window will arrive soon. Three people will come. They will dismantle the old window and will install a new one.
A call is coming to my cell phone.
A worker appears. An employee of the window installation company called him and gave him my address. The worker arrived "on his own", alone, separately. He has a bag of tools with him.
His age is between 25 and 30 (35). A proportional man, slightly above average height, with a strong body. Who does he look like? An athlete? Probably, not. A sergeant, discharged from the army? If so, then very remotely.
A car arrived soon. The driver is walking around the car. The car is transporting six windows. There are no other people.
A worker, who arrived earlier, is calling somewhere. Where are the other workers?!
No one else will come.
The driver will not wait. He needs to deliver new windows for installation to other addresses. If you want, take your window off the car, if you want, don't take it off.
The worker, which arrived earlier, has a right not to work alone. But, probably, he will lose his day earnings and will spoil his working reputation. After all, the order that I did and paid for (partially, in advance) will not be fulfilled today.
The worker and the driver (and I) take the new window off the car. The car is leaving.
I stare in amazement at a worker who single-handedly dismantles (removes) an old window and puts it aside. He drags up a new window onto the windowsill and starts installing it.
Many operations require the participation of at least two people. I help him as much as possible. But I have no experience in installing of windows, skills, a "muscle memory", no habit of this activity, no needed, specific, "grip" - so my help is very limited. In addition, the space for "maneuver" is very limited, which creates additional difficulties for the worker.
To my surprise, the worker is carrying, with great effort, the old window and new one "on the hump", performs the necessary operations. I'm even afraid that he might get some kind of health problem - like a hernia, or a torn ligament, or something like that.
And now the most difficult stages of the process of installing a new window are behind. The mood of the worker (and mine) is improving.
A minute of rest.
The worker says thoughtfully: "Today is our main chief's birthday. He turned 62 years old."
He says this with such an intonation, as if he has an adult son, this son is flying into space on a spaceship. And now the worker remembers him and thinks about him.
I am listening in silence.
During this period of my life, I make attempts in a swimming (sailing) downstream (1-2 hours) on an inflatable boat.
Either I started talking about swimming, or the worker remembered (in a good mood) about the day when he received an unusually large sum of money for his work.
Anyway, he remembered the inflatable boat.
On the joyful day of receiving an unusually large day salary, he celebrated this pleasant event with his buddies.
And one of his buddies persuaded him to buy (at a "store" price) a huge inflatable boat suitable for "powerful" voyages.
However, he is far from practical usage of inflatable boats. The plans were various... But a huge boat ended up lying in some deep basement.
I know that there are special rules established by the state for the practical use of huge inflatable boats. (Perhaps due to various difficulties in use, his buddy "caught" the moment and sold this huge boat to this worker).
I feel interest.
Several times I give the worker hints about my interest. An image arises in my mind: we (me and this worker) are trying to use this huge inflatable boat in practice on a large reservoir.
However, the worker remains deaf to these repeated hints. He needs to finish his work.
The window is installed. The worker received from me either an additional payment (provided for in the contract), or a signature on the acceptance certificate, or both. (I don't remember the details).
He puts the tools in his bag and leaves.
The huge inflatable boat left lying somewhere in a deep basement.
It's March 2 now, the Sun, for now, is behind the clouds, but for some reason I remembered this worker - the installer of plastic windows - and that sunny autumn.
I wrote this drawing from memory.
March 2, 2024 08:33
Translation from Russian into English: March 02, 2024 10:56
Владимир Владимирович Залесский ' Установщик пластиковых окон. Зарисовка '.
{3483. Установщик пластиковых окон. Зарисовка. - 2 марта 2024 г.
MMMCDLIV. Plastic window installer. A drawing. - March 2, 2024.
Vladimir Zalessky Internet-bibliotheca. Интернет-библиотека Владимира Залесского. }