It was 9:01 a.m., I know because I had just looked at my phone. I was walking down one of the newly framed corridors of the latest project when I heard, “Good morning, Sir, I have a question”. This interaction was nothing new and I didn’t really give it much thought until I was walking back to the construction trailer 10 minutes later. When was the term “Sir” attached to me?
Sir. The military uses that title regularly and it denotes respect. My father always taught me that the term "sir" was for men of age and experience. But I’m not old. Most of the time people say “sir” to “That Old Grizzled Guy” in the corner. You know, the guy that’s been around so long that no one seems to know where he comes from. He’s just always been there. However, you know he has the answer.
So I started to thinking back on my career. My first job was at 15 with Coach Jones. He was the High School Basketball Coach that worked with the County Rec. Department looking over public parks and the swimming pool during the summers when school was in recess. He was a pretty good egg. He taught me a lot. I called him "Sir". Tragically he died early in a trucking accident. He seemed like that “Old Grizzled Guy”, at the time.
After High School I became an apprentice electrician. I was hired on as a gopher, shuffling wire here and there for the Journeyman. Conduit in bundles of 10 gets very heavy after the first 3 flights of stairs. The Superintendent of construction was most definitely one of those Old Grizzled Guys. People said “Sir” to him all the time. For heaven’s sake he must have been way over 50. I know this because his side burns were very grey. My boss even referred to him as “Sir”, and my boss was old too. I don’t remember him being overly harsh. I don’t remember him yelling, screaming, being demanding or anything some might expect from the “Bosses boss” but I was nervous in his presence.
I soon moved to painting, then framing, then a stint in roofing and on to drywall. Each time I can think of one or more persons that I worked for or purchased materials from that fit the title of “That Old Grizzled Guy”.
Eventually, my brain had to take over because my body was braking down, and I went back to school to finish a degree that I’d started 25 years earlier. I really had fun sitting with class mates young enough to be my son or daughter. Even some of the teachers were younger than me. In fact, one of the mandatory classes was a framing class. The instructor was a young man that used to be my employee. You can imagine what that might have been like, especially when he had taken my oldest daughter out on a date once. Was I a “Sir” to him? Some of my Professors were well established in their career, and had grey hair, or no hair. They were “That Old Grizzled Guy” as well. But what I began to notice about "that guy" was he was becoming a lot more fun. He listens to the same music as I did. Watches the same kind of movies and remembers who and what the Bandit is. We might even talk about our glory days in Football.
So as I sit here I have to ask myself, when did I become“Sir”? I do have a piece of paper saying I finished school. I do have 30+ years in the industry. Most of my kids are out of the house. I am grey on the sides. And I am the Superintendent. But now I realize, I’m probably that “Old Grizzled Guy”. And I hope I have earned and deserve that great label.
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Roger D. Laws, an old grizzled guy, is a Commercial Construction Superintendent. He has been a builder for the past 30 years. His completed projects include many homes and basements, a Walgreens, a dentist office, a rehabilitation center, a community living center and many others. He is an avid motorcyclist; touring most of the western half of the United States. Father of 6 children and 2 sons-in-law. Roger has a B.S. in Technology Management from Utah Valley University.
