Have a strange local vegetable? Mirliton Festival
Take pride in local strawberries? Pontchatoula Stawberry Festival (and delicious, delicious beer)
Love your neighborhood? Freret Street Festival
Celebrating a local street musician? Chaz Fest
Funeral? Parade
Christening? Parade
Wedding? Parade
I’m bored… Parade
It’s Tuesday? Parade
That famous Tuesday that is known for being “Fat” was also fast approaching. So while the festival season was blooming and Mardi Gras was gearing up, an old friend whom I mentioned the project to decided he would take up the task of helping me, seeming to spring into town in keeping with the season.
Colin and I met while serving as interns at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School and became friends while doing the day-to-day work at the school. We seemed to have a rapport that was complimentary, my skills and experience in building were nowhere near his, but I could sometimes add a creative spark that would get us both going on a project. One of our more auspicious moments in Vermont was our spearheading of the building of the Yestermorrow 4th of July float (My primal New Orleans/Mardi Gras float building desire had been awoken). It was a task that we interns had kind of put off to the very last minute, fretting about what we were going to do. In a moment of inspiration (and inebriation), I think a student/friend said, “You guys should make some giant battle-wheel, and wheel it through town like a marauding Viking thing.”
I don’t know if it was Colin or myself who paused and stared for a moment. All I know is that the next day, we set about designing and building a WHEEL. This contraption came together through sheer intern grit, trash, pilfering old barn parts, and a couple pieces of new wood.
The product of days in the shop and an all-nighter on July 3-4 was a people powered, 10 foot tall, two wheeled dynamo that we wheeled through town, controlling it with an off-centered gear. It was an amazing day.
I needed help on this project, and I had hoped I would be able to get a former partner in on it.
Before he even got into town, I had set Colin on drafting up the extra things we needed to submit to the city. He and Jared piggy backed on each other’s work and were able to get a good set of requirements together. When Colin did finally get to town, he, Tony, and I were on the phone and emailing each other constantly.
We finally produced a product that we hoped would be good enough to satisfy the City, and we met at Tony’s office to review and stamp them.
Tony: “They usually try and send it back with some questions, so we’ll have to wait and see what they say.”
Stamping Tool: “KAH-CHUNK”
Tony: “Hopefully we won’t have to submit a whole new set of drawings if they have an issue with something, usually it can be handled with a letter explaining some more details.”
Stamping Tool: “KAH-CHUNK”
Me: “You think they’ll kick it back for revisions?
Tony: “They could…they kind of like to in order to show that they’re doing their job.”
Stamping Tool: “KAH-CHUNK”
I zipped down to City Hall again and went to submit the drawings. From the day we had received the “STOP WORK” order, it had been three weeks. I went up to the permit office and did the foreign bus station dance again. This time, I got a younger officer who filed the plans and was very studious and efficient about it.
Officer: “We should be able to give you a call sometime in the next few days about the status of your application.”
Me: “So there’s probably no way to have this done today or tomorrow.”
Officers: “It’s going straight to Zoning now, and Plan Review should be done with it in a couple of days.”
Me: (sigh)…”Cool.”
I walked out of City Hall dissatisfied, but unsurprised. I texted my parents to let them know that we had submitted again and that we had to wait a little more, in the hope that we could start building again.
My father, ever the Latin/legal mind, replied:
“Ora Pro Nobis”
I replied:
“In Nomeni Patri”
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