At 10:20 pm last night, this creature came through the front door:
This is what manual labor looks like after working all day to remove burnt fencing (charred in last year’s fires).
I told EB that he looked like a miner and sent him to wash in the laundry room utility sink.(I’m not mean — I also filled a dinner plate with meat & veggies and poured him a glass of milk and a glass of water.)
He drove 90 minutes home looking like that and he plans to return on Thursday to finish the job. Tonight he hits the shower before he hits the sack; tomorrow he drives an hour in a different direction to chop and split firewood. All this for $10-15 an hour. Sometimes I wonder if he regrets dropping out of college.
Spokalulu 
Yes, I’d put my money on him regretting a decision like that…
I can only hope.
Karen – I’ve never thought my prayers would help someone – but I’m willing to give it a chance for your sake. I know you do the same for me and my son.
Wow, that’s some makeup. And to think that at my daughter’s Girl Scout camp they covered themselves with soot for fun!
I hope it goes well for him. These sound like tough jobs. My first thought was that I hope he is protecting his lungs from breathing in stuff like that. But maybe that’s not an issue a year after the fires.
The soot from a forest fire reamins dangerous for years and years – if not longer. It will slowly become buried by nature, but when disturbed when dry it’ll be a hazard for years.
I didn’t realize that he dropped out of college. Sounds like he is just trying to find himself. At least he is helping others.
Sometimes a year or so of jobs can help us figure out what our goals are. Even if those goals don’t include college, goals are good things to have 🙂