Chapter 11

Working with Frank that year was trying to say the least, but when we were socializing everything was laughter and happiness. I came to realize that much of Frank’s agitation, when we were on the job, was due to his lack of confidence in doing the job. All the talk about having done this or that a million times was not only an exaggeration but probably a big lie since one began to doubt that he had ever done it. As a boss he was ineffective and what’s worse he was often an outright ‘jerk’. He would never accept responsibility for things that went wrong, blaming me, the tools, or the material in use. Frank had a frustrating manoeuvre during arguments he was about to lose. When the lights went on and he realized he was wrong, after having sworn up and down that he was right, and, that the other person didn’t understand, he would suddenly say, “Fuck man, that’s what I’ve been saying all along!” In the ensuing argument about whether or not he had said something completely different, he would use phrases like “but I thought you meant…….” followed by some illogical and contrary statement as to what the other person had actually said, and,  “Fuck man, we’re both saying the same thing and you’re confusing the hell out of me”.

An example of his obduracy in the face of crystal clear logic occurred when we were building a lean-to roof and partial enclosure on the patio of ‘Bill the bank manager’. This particular Bill was watching every move we made and even offered to assist with measuring and cutting the 2” x 4”s and 6” x 6” support posts. Frank did all he could to decline the offer of assistance and was visibly uncomfortable having Bill in such close proximity. At one point we had mounted a 2” x 8” beam onto the wall. To this beam we would attach the 2” x 4”s which would support the roof plywood and shingles. With the outer support frame already in place Frank was ready to start nailing down the roof support beams.

Bill had been observing the process and had, with a measuring tape, checked some of the dimensions. At this moment he had a worried look on his face.

He said, “How much of a slope have you allowed for on the roof?”

Frank responded with great authority “You’ll have a two inch slope. If we make it more you’ll be walking into it every time you come out”.

“Well, I don’t think you have a two inch slope, in fact I think you’ll find that the slope is toward the house rather than away from the house” replied Bill in a slow but confident manner.

“What are you talking about?’ protested Frank “I figured it out and measured it myself”.

An argument followed. When Bill explained his logic I knew that he was correct, Frank on the other hand adamantly refused to concede a miscalculation. In the end we had to place a long piece of 2” x 4” across the expanse and test it with a spirit level. Frank had miscalculated; the end where the rainwater would normally run-off was two inches higher than at the house exterior wall. What Frank had done was cut the outer support frame two inches less than the wall fixing. This meant that when a 2” x 4” was placed in the joist bracket flush with the beam on the house wall, and across the top of the support beam on the outer frame, the slope was reversed toward the house and not away from it. This was one time when he couldn’t direct the blame to me since Bill had been a witness. Instead he said to Bill “With you trying to help there are too many people around here and I can’t concentrate”.

Bill replied contemptuously “That’s bull shit and you know it! Anyway, what are you going to do about it?”

“I’ll cut a notch in each cross piece” said Frank hastily.

Bill was quick to respond with “Like hell you will, that would look like shit and I won’t accept it”.

“Well what do you want me to do?” lamented Frank.

“I think you have to dismantle the outer frame and shorten it by four inches!”

Which is exactly what we did. When Bill had gone into his house for whatever reason Frank whispered “Fuck man, I hate when people you’re doing a job for want to stand over you and watch, and talk, and get in the fucking way. It’s his fault I made that mistake!”

Always the pacifier I said encouragingly “It’s no big deal, we’ll have it fixed up in half and hour and then we’ll be cooking!”

There were times when I questioned my sanity for continuing to work with Frank. The lack of planning and organization frustrated me immensely.

There were a number of days when I showed up at his house at 9:00 a.m., as per the plan, and Frank was still in bed. On one particular occasion he woke up really grumpy. He began by snarling at his girlfriend Kim who didn’t prepare his espresso quickly enough, and then cursed her for making the coffee too hot to drink. She endured this abuse while desperately trying to hold back the tears welling in her eyes. When he went to get his chop-saw out of the garage he found that Kim’s car was blocking his way of passage. In a very unpleasant way he screamed at her to come and move her car. With his car parked beside hers there was little room to manoeuvre and when she started to move backwards her car’s rear end scraped the garage doorframe. She heard the scrape and buried her face in her hands in anticipation of the onslaught.

“You stupid slut. Look what you did bitch! Get out of the fucking car before I slap you in the head” screamed Frank loud enough for the entire neighbourhood to hear. His face was almost purple with rage.

Kim, in a state of shock, opened her car door and unintentionally banged the side of Frank’s car with her door. This brought on another torrent of ugly abuse as she ran into the house, tears cascading down her cheeks.

After a few moments he settled down and I said to him “Frank, with all that shouting, you make her so nervous that she doesn’t know whether she’s coming or going, I really don’t think this was her fault”.

“She’s a stupid fucking bitch,” he snapped back at me.

He moved the car and retrieved his chop-saw, which was buried underneath a number of other tools in the corner. By this time his anger had subsided and he said, “Awe fuck. I suppose I should go and make up with her”. Which he did.

As we were leaving to go to work he rolled down the window and yelled to Kim “See you later hon. Love you!”

I couldn’t figure out what kind of love he was talking about.

Overall, the work was not that bad and we rarely worked for more than 5 hours a day. Frank was paying me a token wage and I felt the need to stay close to him in order to keep tabs on my investment, so the relationship was maintained. In July, without giving a hint of his intentions, Frank showed up at my house riding a Harley Davidson  motorbike.

He and his machine seemed somewhat incongruous. At first I thought it was perhaps to do with his short stature mounted on a large bike but there was more to it. Frank’s handling of the machine was tentative. I had the impression that his feet were a little stretched when he needed to touch the ground and his arms a little too short to comfortably reach the handlebars. However, he assured me that he was an experienced rider. In the following weeks he took the required written test 4 times in order to validate his license. In the three months following he had two mishaps during which the bike was scuffed and bent and Frank suffered minor scrapes and bruises. One of the incidents occurred on the street where he lived. Apparently there was an accumulation of dust and gravel on the road, which caused him to skid and slide. The other incident involved a low impact collision into the back of a truck at a controlled intersection. He claimed the truck made a sudden stop without cause, so it wasn’t really his fault. Knowing his incapacity to accept responsibility one has lingering doubts about believing what one doesn’t see.

September came and with it another opportunity for a small investment of $5,500 that would yield a payment of one thousand dollars a month for six months, plus the $5,500 returned at the end. I accepted the deal and gave him the cash. In the middle of October he paid me the first monthly interest instalment. A week later he came to me bubbling over with excitement. There was a new deal in the offing. It involved a large amount of money but with a terrific payback in just four months.

“Both Ernie and me are in on this one and I’d like you to have the third share,” said Frank overflowing with enthusiasm.

“How much is involved?” I queried.

“It’s sixty three thousand but pays ninety four grand in three months. Just think on February 15th we’re going to be getting ninety four G’s each in cash”.

“To be honest with you,” I replied, “I don’t think there’s any way I can come up with that much”.

“Gees man, you got to. This is the best deal we’ve had in a long time and you deserve it more than anyone” his tone was sincere and pleading.

“The only way I could do this is by cashing in my retirement fund and I don’t want to do that, besides it would take too long” I responded.

“Come on man, you can’t let this one go. Fuck sake! You’ll make more in three months than in ten years with your GIC’s. Man, I really want you to have this. Look it’s guaranteed. You know I’d never let you down,” this he said with the fervent passion of a believer.

My resistance at this point had not been broken but had been severely weakened. I said, “I need some time to think about it”.

“That’s O.K. we’ve got 10 days to put this one together, but I need to know as soon as possible”. This was the first time he had offered me a deal without saying that another member of his group was begging for this opportunity.

I decided to find out exactly what I could gather together through my limited resources. Ultimately the best I could do was $53,000, which included borrowing in the form of an extended line of credit. I advised Frank that I wouldn’t be able to participate in this bonanza due to a shortfall of $10,000.

His first comment was “Have you tried everything? There’s no way you can get an extra ten grand?” 

“Not possible” I said.

“Look” he said, “I may be able to help. Fuck man, I want you to have this so bad. What if I could get my people in Van to transfer ten grand from one of my other accounts, would that help?”

“Why would you want to do that?” I said somewhat perplexed.

“’Cause that’s how much I appreciate all you’ve done to help me in the last couple of years. You’re probably my only true friend in this town and I want you to get what you deserve” again he spoke with total conviction.

I didn’t say anything for a while being too busy in my mind trying to decide which way to go. Eventually I said, “See what you can do and if it’s possible I’ll decide then”.

That is the way we left the matter until the following day when Frank called and said “The people in Van said they could do it but it’s gonna cost three hundred and twenty six dollars to pull out the funds. Would you be able to cover the three hundred bucks?”

I made the decision. “O.K. let’s do it. I can have $40,000 available in 3 days but it may take a week to get the remaining $13,000. But I‘ll have to give you cheques”.

“Why don’t you give me the forty right now. You can postdate it for 3 days if you want. At least then I can confirm with Van that it’s a definite deal,” suggested Frank.

The deal was completed a week later and I looked forward to the coming new year with great expectations.