Contracting’s location is unique, but there’s something even more interesting about your company. I understand you hire only women workers. Why is that?”
“That’s not exactly true. I mean, it’s not a company policy. It just happens to work out like that.” She stopped. The questions were getting closer to things she didn’t want to discuss. “Island Contracting, in Noel’s time, did try to hire people who needed a second chance in life.” She paused again. “A lot of them happened to be women. And,” she added, becoming enthusiastic as she realized they had segued to a safe topic, “you have to remember how much things have changed since Island Contracting was created. Women began training in the trades in the late sixties and early seventies, but even now there are companies that go out of their way to only hire men. For some women, a place like Island Contracting is a miracle as well as the only opportunity they’ve been offered to use their skills professionally.
“You know, Bobby, there are government-sponsored programs to get women off welfare and into the workforce. And some of those programs have only recently discovered that people in the trades—electricians, plumbers, carpenters, rockers, and others—are in an ideal position to change their lives. We pay living wages and sometimes can adjust the work hours to accommodate women who are raising small children and— Oh!” She broke off. “I’m sorry. I called you Bobby. I forgot.”
“Don’t worry. Your answer was too long. And Courtney has included information about those programs in two of her show introductions. We’ll just edit that out.
“Now, let’s see.” He looked down at his list. “Where did you learn your trade? Did you go to school?”
Josie remembered Courtney’s Ivy League T-shirt and sighed. “Actually, I . . . ah, didn’t finish college. And I learned my job right here. At Island Contracting.” At least she didn’t have to admit to only completing one semester of college. But between the coffee stain and some judicious editing on the part of Courtney’s staff, she was fairly sure she’d come off looking stupid as well as sloppy. Why, she wondered as Bobby Valentine asked the next question calling for a revealing answer, had she agreed to be a part of
Courtney Castle’s Castles
?
SEVEN
AS THE FIRST day of shooting Courtney Castle’s Castles continued, the crowds, discouraged by police efforts to keep anyone from seeing anything interesting, dispersed and returned to the sand and surf. Josie and her crew weren’t lucky enough to have that option.
After the interview was over, Josie hurried back to work. They were going to frame in the extension at the back of the house before opening that wall to the outside. The same thing would be done in the front, and then, when the interior walls had been removed and if the good weather held, the upward expansion would begin. The entire project was scheduled to take six weeks. Each week Courtney and/or her crew would be on hand for at least two days of taping. The end result was to be a completely remodeled house and one fund-raising television series.
Her crew had begun marking out the new foundation. Here on the bay, the only foundation possible was of pilings pounded into the ground by the same company that did underwater work for docks and bridges. It was a unique process, and the show was interested in taping this part of the construction.
And Josie was interested in moving beyond the interview stage.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who felt this way. As soon as the television crew was out of hearing range, the complaints began.
“God, why do they want to know so many personal things about us?” Jill said, pulling her T-shirt away from her body. The sun was bright and the women were sweating as they worked.
“Nosy parkers,” Dottie muttered.
Josie raised her eyebrows. That seemed like an awfully subdued reaction from the person she had expected
“That’s not exactly true. I mean, it’s not a company policy. It just happens to work out like that.” She stopped. The questions were getting closer to things she didn’t want to discuss. “Island Contracting, in Noel’s time, did try to hire people who needed a second chance in life.” She paused again. “A lot of them happened to be women. And,” she added, becoming enthusiastic as she realized they had segued to a safe topic, “you have to remember how much things have changed since Island Contracting was created. Women began training in the trades in the late sixties and early seventies, but even now there are companies that go out of their way to only hire men. For some women, a place like Island Contracting is a miracle as well as the only opportunity they’ve been offered to use their skills professionally.
“You know, Bobby, there are government-sponsored programs to get women off welfare and into the workforce. And some of those programs have only recently discovered that people in the trades—electricians, plumbers, carpenters, rockers, and others—are in an ideal position to change their lives. We pay living wages and sometimes can adjust the work hours to accommodate women who are raising small children and— Oh!” She broke off. “I’m sorry. I called you Bobby. I forgot.”
“Don’t worry. Your answer was too long. And Courtney has included information about those programs in two of her show introductions. We’ll just edit that out.
“Now, let’s see.” He looked down at his list. “Where did you learn your trade? Did you go to school?”
Josie remembered Courtney’s Ivy League T-shirt and sighed. “Actually, I . . . ah, didn’t finish college. And I learned my job right here. At Island Contracting.” At least she didn’t have to admit to only completing one semester of college. But between the coffee stain and some judicious editing on the part of Courtney’s staff, she was fairly sure she’d come off looking stupid as well as sloppy. Why, she wondered as Bobby Valentine asked the next question calling for a revealing answer, had she agreed to be a part of
Courtney Castle’s Castles
?
SEVEN
AS THE FIRST day of shooting Courtney Castle’s Castles continued, the crowds, discouraged by police efforts to keep anyone from seeing anything interesting, dispersed and returned to the sand and surf. Josie and her crew weren’t lucky enough to have that option.
After the interview was over, Josie hurried back to work. They were going to frame in the extension at the back of the house before opening that wall to the outside. The same thing would be done in the front, and then, when the interior walls had been removed and if the good weather held, the upward expansion would begin. The entire project was scheduled to take six weeks. Each week Courtney and/or her crew would be on hand for at least two days of taping. The end result was to be a completely remodeled house and one fund-raising television series.
Her crew had begun marking out the new foundation. Here on the bay, the only foundation possible was of pilings pounded into the ground by the same company that did underwater work for docks and bridges. It was a unique process, and the show was interested in taping this part of the construction.
And Josie was interested in moving beyond the interview stage.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who felt this way. As soon as the television crew was out of hearing range, the complaints began.
“God, why do they want to know so many personal things about us?” Jill said, pulling her T-shirt away from her body. The sun was bright and the women were sweating as they worked.
“Nosy parkers,” Dottie muttered.
Josie raised her eyebrows. That seemed like an awfully subdued reaction from the person she had expected
Similar Books
