The Gift of the Christmas Festival

Attend the show or be part of it? Does it really depend on who you think you are or is chance just laughing in the background.

I'm one of the guys who puts the love into the building. Most people would think it is the lead architect. No, the “Great Man” normally comes up with the overall design and then hands it off to an underling to execute. Did I just hear Captain Picard say “Make it so.” I think so. Once you go into the building and start interacting with it, that's me. Structure, electric, hvac, plumbing etc. I make sure it fits together and looks damn good in the end. No credit but a decent paycheck.

It seems we have been working on this Church addition forever. Addition may be a misnomer because what the client is making is larger than any church I ever went to. Late August to December, we should have the building by early January. That time period overlaps with “The Show”.

“We are having our Christmas Festival Show” I overhear the client say from the conference room. “You are welcome to attend for free.”

Later, “Hey boss, do I also get to attend the show for free?” The man seems to have a permanent scowl and if he has ever thrown a kind word in my direction, I can't remember it. You would not want the underlings to feel deserving. “You could go and find out, just tell them you are from our office.”

Standing in front of the church the night of the Festival Show, I feel small. Churches are made that way. The ceiling is about thirty feet high just so you can feel like an ant. It is just one of the tricks to make power seem omnipotent. All the great guys have been doing it for centuries.

I catch the eye of a friendly looking man near the entrance. “I'm from the Architect's office. I'm here to see the show.” “Follow me” he says and takes off. We walk briskly down a hall parallel to the sanctuary. He comes to a door and opens it. “This is the VIP room”, he says “wait in here.”

Wait, what! I am ushered into a room of well dressed people, city leader types. This is not a small city either.

Have you ever had the feeling that you were where everyone said you don't belong. OK, smile, sit down, ride it out. I don't think I have ever seen so many expensive suits in one place. If they noticed me in my short sleeve dress shirt and tie, they have been too polite to let me know. Thank God I wore a tie.

I get comfortable, they are just people who have jobs I tell myself. I look across and see an older woman who is running for reelection for Judge. I remember her television ad and want to smile. She takes this big gavel and brings it down so hard is smashes the base. “Did you see the way she smashed that cookie?” I can hear my wife's voice say. I smile and avoid laughing. She is so serious. I doubt she knows how funny her commercial is.

On my right is the freaking chief of police! Everything about his stature radiates confidence and power. I wonder if I should mention the time I saw one of his officers acting badly. I remember looking out my window to across the street. A poor handcuffed man was having his head slammed into the hood of a police cruiser. Nope, there are some people you just don't embarrass.

I have heard a couple of people down the room referred to as councilman. I have no idea who they are. If they are councilmen serving the city and are not prominent enough to be known. That is on them, not me.

A cheerful man enters the room. “OK, as part of the procession, you will follow me down the isle and be seated in the front row.” I am in the procession! This just keeps getting better and better. I am not only a sore thumb in this group, I get to show that to a few hundred people. I wonder if I should wave too. I can hear my wife's voice in my head again, “no one likes a smart ass”.

The man leads us single file down the middle of the sanctuary toward the front row. I don't know how long this sanctuary is but I feel like I am walking down a football field. I do all I can to just ignore the audience and walk straight ahead.

As the show ends, we get to be the first group escorted out.

The funny thing is, it has been a while and I remember nothing about the show. Nothing! It was probably good if people were donating to be there but suddenly being treated like you are someone special for once really stood out. From confusion to acceptance, is there another level I don't know about?

Construction administration is basically about making sure that the client gets what they pay for from the contractor. If you ever want to clear off a construction site, start telling the construction superintendent everything that needs to be fixed. I have been sent to “check the steel” which means walking through a depression and checking each rebar for the right size and placement. There is nothing special about this job. It is just one of the less glamorous jobs the “Big Man” doesn't have to do. Don't get me wrong, most construction workers are professionals and personally I don't have the stature or desire to do their job.

Anyone who has observed the process knows building a large building is a lot of work. Forcing people into exact standards can be tense sometimes. Do I enjoy this part, absolutely not. Is it necessary, absolutely yes. In any case, we spend countless hours on paperwork and construction observation because at the bottom of it all, our work says who we are. We work and time slides forward.

It's done, the client has the keys, I could not be happier. I stand in the middle of the new Fellowship Hall and am proud. I look from my vantage point remembering I placed every door, ever light switch, I got the lighting in the ceiling just right. There are countless small decisions I made. I feel there is something of me here.

As I stand there, I think back on that awkward experience Christmas Festival Show. I swell with pride and think, “Maybe I did belong in that room!”