Max Beckmann: Meeting of the Forest Owners (1945)

"Now I understand how I will get to trust him."

The FirstMeeting on any project becomes a defining moment, for this gathering always occurs unselfconsciously. The attendees have yet to fall into whatever identities close association always encourages. They're as close to their shoes-off-selves as they'll ever be, if only because nobody quite knows who they're supposed to be yet. Yes, some will show up intending to show well. Others will come inquisitive, but each will come wrapped in an innocence they will quickly abandon in favor of forward momentum. In this session, patterns will make their first appearance. The group's DNA will be present but not yet fully evident, disclosing only hints. Attendance alone will communicate something, for not everyone will make the meeting. Each explanation should say something about who they might become once they join this ensemble. I try to maintain my attention.

The concrete contractor, by far the most crucial player in the early part of this effort, had his sister, who answers his phone, call fifteen minutes before the scheduled start to explain that he'd had a mechanical failure during a pour and couldn't get away from his current job site for the meeting. I rescheduled for early the following morning, knowing that it might just be The Muse and I attending his FirstMeeting. The others are working people and cannot hover around, hoping an agreeable time might be found to take another meeting. Meetings are not work, however much I might insist upon their necessity. The carpenter didn't show, either, though I connected with him by phone after. He might make the morning follow-on with the concrete contractor, depending. I already knew the carpenter's nobody's social animal.

Misconceptions rule through the FirstMeeting. Its purpose might be best characterized as an attempt to discover as many misconceptions as possible so our collective tacit assumptions won't haunt the effort's initiation. This will prove to be a hopeless aspiration, for however many misconceptions might be uncovered in the FirstMeeting, many more than that number must remain unnoticed. The specific items hardly matter. It matters more that we gain some practice talking about them. Only the unspeakables prove unworkable. We can probably tame anything we can name.

I disclose my ignorance first since, as the owner, I have very little status to lose. I prefer to play the part of the rube. It costs me nothing to disclose my ignorance, and whenever I do, I will offer an opportunity for one of my more experienced contractors to show off their knowledge. I blurt, hoping to be corrected. I echo, knowing I'm showing I don't quite understand, silently seeking further clarification. We hold this meeting standing up and moving around because we don't have any written plans to hold us down yet. We have a tape measure and flashlights, and we're checking assumptions the best we know how—the FirstMeeting's like sketching the first portrait of the project. The result must be crude but still show underlying shape and form. Prominent problems dominate this sketch.

I sense that we could be one of those Hell-Uv-A teams, the right people focused on a worthy problem to produce terrific results. I hold no misgivings after the meeting that I had before. I called and conferred with the carpenter to confirm what I had learned from the structural guy. We learned that we'd probably not need to brace the deck further to support the roof and that a beam stretched across the boards should provide more than adequate anchorage. That should save at least a day's effort. We see that the ends of the ceiling will need separate bracing since ceiling joists don't support them. The lack of footing along the North side of the porch explains why that edge sagged. The visible effect of this whole remodel will rely upon the finish carpenter's eye. I confirm this assumption with him. He says he wouldn't have it any other way. Neither would I.

We launched this ship with half the crew missing. This pattern will very likely continue repeating. One holds a FirstMeeting to peek into the patterns likely to be emerging once the project begins working. I can depend upon every participant being just who they are, and then some when under pressure, so I observe to understand, not to judge. I have no interest in encouraging any of these experienced contractors to become anyone they have yet to become. None needs reforming, but each will require me to understand them. Their experience far exceeds my naive understanding. If we communicate, we might manage to keep ourselves out of serious trouble. Trouble will come. The structural contractor confided that he’ll have to bill me for time and materials because this porch might be filled with surprises. Thank heavens he wasn't willing to stake his reputation on his ability to estimate the unknowable. Now I understand how I will get to trust him.

©2024 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #Grace, #PureSchmaltz