Heavy Lifting

Kit Kat and I woke up at an early 8:00am this morning. We drove down the local Home Depot in search of day laborers. We found a bunch of guys standing by the street at the edge of the parking lot. I planned to drive right up to them. But they were too close to the road. We parked in the parking lot and walked up to them. They were definitely looking for work.

I explained the small job we had. I said we needed two strong guys to lift two pieces of furniture. My initial offer was $20 for each person. The guy who seemed like the leader said that three of them worked as a team. He inquired whether the third guy could work too. I said they could bring any number of people. But they would all have to split the $40 total I was willing to pay.

The guy discussed the offer. They were speaking in another language. I could tell that they were trying to figure if it was worth their while. They ended up accepting. Two of themm followed us in their own car. At home, I led them to the basement. Showed them the love seat. Walked them up out the back steps to the side entrance where I wanted them to move the furniture. Then I left Kit Kat with them.

I raced upstairs to prepare my rolltop desk for moving. Pulled out all the drawers. Took everything off the top and inside of the desk. It took the guys a while to move the love seat. They had to compress the cushions to get it out the back door. Then they lifted the desk to bring it down the stairs. They had trouble around the corners becuase of its size. I could hear them groaning because of the weight.

They also had trouble at the foot of the stairs on the main level. They had to lift the desk in the air to get it over the banister. Then I noticed I left one drawer in the desk. I apologized and pulled it out as they continued to move the thing. They got it down the stairs and into my new study. The boys were strong. But they were winded. It took a minute or two for them to catch their breath.

I paid them both a crisp $20 bill. They asked if I could give them an extra $5 for gas and the friend they left behind. I gave them a $10 spot for all the hard work they did. Before we met, Kit Kat and I decided that we could go as high as $100 total for this short but strenuous job. That's how much pain we figured it was worth to us. In retrospect, Kit Kat and I could have never brought the desk down the stairs. It was just too big and heavy.

The guys said they do painting and drywall as well. I told them we might be meeting again in the future for some more work. Normally I use a handyman I know and trust to do my drywall and paint work. But if I could verify that these boys could do as good a job for less money, maybe I should give them a try. They did kill themselves to move our furniture.