This week, I had an assignment. It's an assignment I don't have very often at Doublecreek. Dan gave me the task of painting a shed.


Painting really isn't in my wheelhouse. Way, way, way back in the day (probably 1972 or 1973), I painted the tack room. Let me share with you my painting philosophy. If you have a surface and it's covered with paint, then it's all good! Brush strokes going the same direction? Why bother! Paint applied evenly over a surface? Why bother! I felt if it worked for Jackson Pollock, it would work for Doublecreek. I topped off my handiwork by painting a replica of the Rolling Stones logo on the wall.


Aunt Trudy was not amused. She repainted the tack room herself. After that, I was never included in any painting conversation. Around 1976 or 1977, Uncle Carter built about a dozen benches. (Some of which we still use!) They needed to be painted. I volunteered to help paint and I still remember the exchange;

"Aunt Trudy, would you like me to paint one of the benches?"

"Why don't you go mow the grass?"

"But I mowed yesterday?"

"I'm sure it needs mowing again."

And so, I was banned from painting. I have to say being banned from painting didn't hurt my feelings at all. I was surprised when Dan gave me the painting assignment. He and I both worked on the shed, until he got a phone call. He listened briefly to whoever was calling him and then responded, "oh great!" Then he walked off.


How come when we get unhappy news, we say something like "Oh, great", "That's terrific", or "Oh wonderful"? Don't the words great, terrific and wonderful mean something good? So how come people say "oh great" when it's bad news?


Sorry, I digress.....I like to chase rabbits.


Anyway, I was working on a project, which I don't like, and have little aptitude for. I did make an effort to have my brush strokes go in the same direction. When I finished, I stepped back to check on my handiwork. Then I stepped back further to check my handiwork. I found, that the further back I went the better my handiwork looked!


The next morning, I saw Emma and Nathan heading to the shed to apply a second coat. I'm pretty sure when they examined my efforts from the previous day, they said, "Oh great!"


-Joe Ray

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