One Candy Bar Every 5 Minutes!

When I was little, 5 years old, my dad would take me to some of his work sites to help him do some surveying. He would set up the equipment and mark spots for me to hold the measuring rod. When I was 5 it was about all I could do to stand the rod on end and hold it upright. It probably weighed about ½ as much as me. Some of the places I remember going were churches and schools. I remember the San Carlos high school site the best. Since my father was putting me to work he said that I could choose my own wages. I remember thinking well if I made 5 cents a minute then that would be one candy bar every 5 minutes. So I made the proposition to my dad. He said sure, and my $3/hour wage stuck with me for the next 10 years. I had to fill out my time card too. I don’t think I was very accurate and sometimes I forgot to write my time down so I think my dad got a pretty good deal.

Over the years my dad and I made a pretty good team. We developed hand signals for when to move the pole and tape. My favorite hand signal was the signal for “all done” (the baseball “safe” sign). I think the project that I did the most for was Skyline High School. When I got to college I meant to take a surveying class so that I would maybe understand what I had been doing all those years, but I never got around to it. I will someday, maybe.