Be comfortable! None of us wants you to suffer on our behalf. Thanks for all the good times.

"This Old House" Coffee and a little cloud in front of me!

Got my coffee and I’m settled in. Cheers, brother Otis. Today’s my birthday!

I feel that, Otis!!! My entry level construction gig was sheetrock. This Old House!!!!

Loved it. What a great laugh for this Saturday morning drinking my coffee living the easy life. I was home on leave from the Army and an older cousin had started a thriving roofing company. He was taking me around to the jobs his crews were working on in Pittsburgh. One crew was on break and drinking. I asked if OSHA or somebody would bust them for doing that. He said, "If I stop those guys from drinking, they definitely will fall off. They're alcoholics and in this heat, they're going to fall apart up there without it.". I drove flatbed trucks when I got out and ran into so, so many situations that made for great stories. They do seem like hell when you're going through them, but the stories made make for a rich life.

Up until the late 70’s/early 80’s I had worked for minimum wage in relatively low skill jobs until I heard about a big construction project that was hiring. I got hired and quickly figured out that somehow I wasn’t the dumbest guy there. It was a huge project that had around four thousand workers when I joined in. It paid three times what I had gotten used to and really changed my life . I learned that a lot of folks in high positions got there by accident or by bullshitting their way in. I was there for about five years and have enough stories to write a book but that sounds too much like work and I’d much rather play guitar , hang with like minded friends and tell stories. Great video O.G.

Great story! Thank you! My pickle bucket story, 1989, took a job cleaning carpets. The machine was like a big trash can you filled with hot water and you mixed the water and chemicals on site in a 5-gallon pickle bucket, which the company said I could buy at any paint store. Day 1 I headed out to my first house remembering to stop to buy that bucket, tried 2 paint stores, neither had buckets, so I drove to a deli and stole a pickle bucket from behind the store. Got to the house, filled the machine and started cleaning, and in 10 seconds the whole house reeked of pickles! The lady asked me why and I came up with "Oh, that's just a light vinegar agent, it will dissipate in about 4 hours". Loved your story, thank you so much Otis.

As a youngster working construction for my dad there was a roofing crew similar to what you described. I didn't see any bracelets but there was plenty of prison ink. The crew was run by a woman. The most badass woman I ever met. She used to come and talk to me all the time with a big smile on her face. The only woman that ever made me nervous. I wish I'd have manned up and asked her out.

I’ve been in situations similar to that where you’re thinking “Is this really happening? Am I living this right now?” There’s another side of life that we don’t normally see. Many times it’s the life that comes from a bad upbringing and many bad choices. We are blessed and sometimes one bad decision away from our life going off the rails.

Great car acoustics. I'd watch an episode of "This Old House" with everybody huffing and hopped up on adhesive fumes.

Masterpiece Theater.

Otis, I'm an English man living in rural Fenland in the county. I'm a musician and play the guitar like you. I want to tell you that when you speak, you're speaking directly to me, I'm sure all your other viewers feel the same. Don't stop what you're doing, you provide intelligent

I think everybody should have to do one year of construction after high school. It made me one tough son of a gun. From single digit morning temperatures in winter to humidity so thick my clothes were as wet as if I'd been swimming in the summer, it made me able to endure any hardship and also allowed me to appreciate and savor all pleasures and luxuries that came my way. Not to mention saving me tens of thousands of dollars over the years because of skills and knowledge I picked up on the job site.

Great story over morning coffee Otis. Thanks! I had a similar experience in High School back the lates 70s. I was at the Agriculture Complex at the school (FFA). Roofer stopped by in the afternoon asked the instructors if any kids wanted to work. I was the only kid who agreed. Went with him to a local restaurant where we spent the afternoon tearing off old roof, tarring and laying down rolled roofing, hoisting up five gallon buckets of tar by rope, cleaning up the old roofs scraps afterward. I made about $20 I think, but my levis, shoes, and shirt were thrashed with tar, holes and dirt, so it cost me more than I made, lol. If memory serves, I think he broke out a couple of beers from his ice chest at the end of the day... or maybe he gave me a coke and HE had a beer, I can't remember. What I DO remember is that day eliminated roofing as a career choice for me.

I have been in the restaurant business for over 30 years and I worked with the same ankle bracelet crew you did. After roofing they all became dishwashers and switched from sniffing glue to sucking the nitrous out of the spray cans of whipped cream.

Ha! Nice- I once was one of those guys with the ankle monitor- and... I did roofing on Wal Mart warehouses in Phoenix! It sucked...

Great story Otis! I can relate to my time in the late 80’s as a house painter during the summers. Some real characters and important life lessons learned.

Otis, my man! Let’s talk about the recent Rock Hall nomination for Warren Zevon!…or forget the Hall and just talk Warren Zevon! Thanks for the great videos. Hell of a time to stop sniffing glue!

Great perspective, living life is finding out what not to do next. Have no regrets!

TPO roofing Otis. Laid miles of it myself

When I was 22 I was getting honorably discharged out of the Coast Guard. I had had dreams as a teenager of pursuing a musical career. Ended up married, then kids, several moves, and a few short years later, divorced. I still held on to the dream of making something in music. Here I am these days, about the same age as Otis, and I've worked in a variety warehousing jobs, and fir the last ~25 years, I've been an electrician. I've worked around plenty of the other trades, and have seen folks as Otis described them. As a musician, I've rarely fit in with the construction crowd. Not much into hunting, fishing, or camping. I'm capable, but I'd rather play music. Many thanks, Otis, for the story and reminding me kind of where I started. Happy Saturday Be good to you 🤍💛

I worked as a plumber's helper on a school renovation when I was in college...I took a year off to earn a little money. Of course they called me "College Boy", and the first week the foreman said, "All you need to know to be a plumber is $h!t runs downhill and you get paid on Friday." It was an education that I still find valuable today.

I swung a hammer for 5 or 6 years before I realized I was a carpenter. I stuck with it even though I didn't plan on being a carpenter it's just a thing that happened.

"I am trying to wait until the afternoon until i get into the glue" Oh my you crack me up

This Old House. I framed houses while attending college. We were putting plywood down on a two story house and the advice I was given is if the wind grabs hold of it - let go, and if you fall, fall into the house. Every now and then they would ask what I was doing there? Making money.

Favorite lines: "It's time to open a new bucket of glue." "Well, the first time I fell off the roof. . ." "Ever since I was a kid I've been passionate about roofing. I've always wanted to know the ins and outs of rubber roofing." "Otis, you really don't fit in here." "Ronnie, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." Otis, you could have been a comedian as well as a musician. I love the way your mind works!

I was smiling through this entire story. I’m 63 and started carrying a mortar and brick hods in 1978 in Northern Va. I was 18 years old and I was back in the states after spending my entire junior high and high school years in Paris, Brussels, Beirut and Islamabad Pakistan. I had no job experience of any kind. Long story short I spent the next 45 years as a bricklayer. I’ve seen it all

This old house, with Bob Villa and friends PBS. Great show fixing up old houses. Don't recall itinerant workers on that show!

I had a similar job doing roofing and maintenance at a shopping center when I was about 20. My bass player was a coworker and we would play gigs and get home about 3 or 4 am , sleep a couple of hours and go to work. Fortunately, our boss was a raging alcoholic who was in way worse shape than we were most mornings. And if it happened to be raining and we couldn't work, we went to a bar he knew about that was open at 8 am and have bloody marys before he would send us home for the day with pay. Good times. Great stories, Otis, greetings from nearby in Ohio.

Hey Otis..! I’m a semi-retired,bass-playing ,guitar theory-learning carpenter.. Worked in the industry since’74… Gotta tell ya,roofers are in a category of their own… about a step below common laborers…( there’s a lot of intelligent,sober,responsible for the most part ,laborers..)..but roofers are known to be scumbags in general.. But there is a sense of humor in the trades that isn’t what you’d call PC… I’m a member of an online community of guitar students and I often have to apologize for my “rough sense of humor “ to other members..😩🤣… I usually only insult those that I like.. all in good fun.. Anyway… my Comment is gonna be longer than your video if I don’t stop now… Just remember… A carpenter built the home you live your Life in… a roofer only put a lid on it.. Thanks for all your vids,Otis..!👍🏼❤️

Definitely reminds me of a few years in my younger days working such jobs....

Framers Lives Matter! The Lone Framer

I just love your Videos. Thank You.

My father did a job for an old friend once. He was setting up a gravel crushing plant in our area, with used parts. Just a shed full of motors and equipment from another plant is what we had to use to set up the electrical system. It was in a big building in the middle of nowhere, on a hill. I had just finished an electrical course, and jumped at the chance to gain the experience. It was so cold in that plant. I wore a skidoo suit, and had to go outside the building to warm up a bit. It was in the eighties, and paid $10/hour. There was a qualified electrician there, who hired apprentices. He was paying them $8, and pocketing the extra $2 off every apprentice he had there. The thing about having a tough first job, is the following ones are comparatively easy. I’ve had to work in much colder jobs since then, but that was my introduction to working in the cold. That brand new plant collapsed when we had a lot of snow one weekend, so we had to start over.

I watered greens on a golf course for a few seasons. In the middle of a night, racing around on a Cushman with broken headlights, hauling 2” 100 psi hoses- cold, wet and alone. Man, was I happy to see the sun come up every day, grab a donut and hot coffee at the snack bar.

I believe you're thinking of This Old House. Great story as usual Otis!

The show name is "This old House" ... My favorite part, "That's the nicest thing anyone ever said to me." ... K from AZ🌵

I am definitely in the Otis rabbit hole!! Drink my tea when I wake up usually around noon and watch some Otis videos. And going to bed watching some as well. Thank you for such a great channel!

I never worked around anyone like that, and I've had so many construction jobs. If we weren't busting ass we were gone. Now, painters, on the other hand. LOL, breathing fumes and drinking beer at lunch, also before and after lunch, seemed to stay stoned a lot. We always smoked pot on regular jobs, to beat the heat here in Texas, but everyone was pretty good at what they did or they caught hell and were fired..

Entertaining as always. Here’s my story: I was in similar situation as you Otis and needed some quick cash. I got hired to help a couple brothers who’d won the contract to dismantle a cement plant in California. Their plan was to salvage all the building materials. The plant had kilns and machinery inside a corrugated steel building the size of a football field and about six or seven stories high. Huge thing. They had another dumb kid like me up on the roof untying the tin and letting it fall to the ground for salvage. Meanwhile the brothers went to the corners of the building and cut into the massive steel columns with cutting torches with the intent of pulling the thing over with their trucks. The building had other ideas and it collapsed with the kid still up on the roof. Amazingly the entire thing came down like a big steel parachute and the kid wasn’t harmed. He did what the rest of us did though which was to get in his cars and leave. I don’t think the brothers were under the influence but sober and stupid is still stupid.

thanks for doing what you do brother

Great story Otis. Friend of mine growing up use to ride his bike close behind the mosquito truck until he would fall off.

“I’m never looking for work…” 😂 me too brah! 🏆

Awesome story man, I truly appreciate each and every one. I can relate…. few years back got a gig with a vinyl siding and gutter crew. Everyone of the guys working there match the description you just laid out, needless to say they was rougher than wiping your ass with a corncob while using an outhouse in middle of February!!! I grew up on a farm and learned well what hard work is, but I’m very quiet and try to be humble… From the start they take my kindness for weakness….. The foreman was a general hothead. He bragged about making grown men cry… From the start he set in on me with a type of training they would call the run off….After about three days of me just smiling and going on doing whatever he screamed at me I guess he thought he would take it a little further and start throwing personal insults down my throat… I can get along with someone bellyaching and communicating work in a belligerent way but I ain’t the type to take some bullshit that is just for someone else to get their kicks. First utterances of any insults and i call the man out in front of the entire crew. I very calmly said , “ Man i can put up with your ugly mouth all day long when it comes to work and work things but if you want to personally insult me then you and i are going have something more than just talking to do. Its your choice which way this goes” You could have cut the air with a knife… nobody ever stepped to the man… The entire crew had stopped working and was waiting for their guy to come out swinging but instead he started laughing and said,” man i was just joking around with you aint no reason for you to act so serious “………. After that i was just one of the guys but something I noticed about his actions from that day forward. For the year and half i put in with those guys he never once treated anyone else the way he had before. I guess he was just waiting for the right one to break his game face….. Best not to bluff least you get called out….and just cause someone is kind hearted doesn’t mean they are weak, generally a man who is humbled got there by living through many battles…. Thanks again. Much love

Laughing out loud brother ...I have had so many of those experience's... I completely relate !! Great Title bye the way !

The name of the show you were thinking about is This Old House, I just finished watching it right before I watched your video.I have been a construction worker all my working life, still going to work every day at 62.

Yeah all the old roofers had stories of falling. That's why I never stayed real long. I did help build a grain elevator once 180ft. up. Most of my 20s and 30s were one type of construction or another.

I put myself through college working construction and bartending. I've always felt that I learned just as much (life lessons) from those two experiences as I ever did at college. I only fell off of the roof once... LOTS of close calls but came through mostly unscathed. Still proud to say I know how to build a house/deck/swing a hammer.

Got a good laugh out of that story, Otis, thanks. I was fortunate enough to make a decent living to satisfy my need for nice guitars but I've been around my share of these kinda guys and always loved the stories of their experiences. I will say that I've laid my share of PVC pipe over the years and have noticed that this task always seemed more enjoyable after about an hour than when you first start, lol.

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I think the show is Ask This Old House on PBS. I grew up lower working class, many jobs like that. Hard times, great lessons. If the bills are paid and 3 beers in the fridge I’m happy.

" that's one of the nicest things anybody has ever said to me"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

This is so dead on , what we do to survive , I roofed for some years till my body broke down here in Florabama land . It’s a rough , possibly roughest work I’ve done except for hard hat diving and possibly cooking lol ! I now am playing for most of my cash which beats the hell out of working .

Yep! Used to be a Teamster working a loading dock to support the record store I owned ( Polar Bear, you and Todd were there quite a few times) and a foreman came up to me and my friend who was a stock broker with an interesting past and said ‘ I can’t figure you guys out’. We both looked at each other and said ‘Thank you!’

I was trying to pay my way thru community College. I took a job to spread pinestraw one summer in Georgia at an apartment complex. I get there and there is one other guy. The maintenance guy for the complex takes us to a basement FULL of old kitchen appliances from over the years. We had to carry the appliances up a flight of stairs and throw them in a construction dumpster that did not open on the ends. Which means we had to lift them over the top. We lasted until lunchtime... 4.50 an hour. This kind of crap happened all the time working for temp services. They'd tell the temp service one thing and end up being different. When you're broke, you'll put up with some bullshit for a buck. - wow that sounds like a song.

Yep, been there done that in my younger days and I’ll admit to being terrified of heights but having to suck it up. Always admired the guys who would climb those ladders with a bucket in each hand and step up over the top like it was nothing.

You are real and thank you for that .

When I first moved to Austin Texas in the early to mid 80s I got a job hanging gutters commercially. Rickety ladders on three floor apartments, drunk coworkers, terrified of the heights. Lasted four days.

Been there done that, moved on to operator, running dragline and back ho, didn't like to travel, now I'm maintenance at a food processor plant 3 more years I'll be retired and rockin a chair on a porch with my guitar,.. Love the story's you tell Otis. Stay cool

that's called gettin' in touch with the real...those experiences, and putting forth the effort to interact and get to know those folks, have given me a greater insight and empathy for the human condition. For me, it was time well spent honing my truth (and gathering some fertile song material). I'm grateful for it.

I did a lot of construction, and I pretty much lucked out, working with people who knew their stuff and were worth learning from. I worked up from laborer to carpenter, and had great times with great people. We liked rotten jokes and foul language, but were respectful and sober for the most part. Beers after work might send you to work the next day with a hangover, but nobody worked drunk or stoned. A roofing contractor I knew always had problems with his crews. One thing he said that has always stuck with me was, “Roofers are an animalistic bunch.” Now, I’ve known plenty of roofers, including him, who don’t fit that description, but I think he pretty much nailed the syndrome you experienced, Otis.

First Monday after my last class in high school, I went to a job site with an older friend to see if I could find work. Two guys didn't show up having not worn off the weekend. I did get picked up as a laborer and soon picked up some carpentry skills. One of the fellows had done prison time. He told me he got caught trying to haul a safe out of a store he worked at after closing and got caught as it was stuck in the door. On the night after he got out, he went to rob a drive in after closing. The alarm triggered, the sheriff roared up and he lit out. He had to swim the Great Miami River to escape. He said he went straight after that experience. I have fond memories of those summers between college and the fellows I worked with and learned from. These's a lesson in every experience.

Scaffolders and roofers...health and safety nightmares!

"This Old House" Somebody else probably chimed in already...Had a house painting job like that one you described. One morning on the way into the work, I saw several really big guys walking into the shop, people I'd never seen before . Next thing I know they all explode out of the shop door with one of our guys collared. Someone tried to step in and they all flashed badges, FBI. They arrested the poor guy for counterfeiting! When someone told the boss what happened all he said was, "guess he won't be working today..."

Ha, great story Otis. Would love to hear more Fountain Square memories if you wish to share any. 🎵

This story is all to relatable.

3 weeks ago i accepted a job offer from the local metal recycling yard classifying brass and copper after 35 years of house painting.ive got way to many ladder/roof/scaffolding stories, but none involve me falling thank god. im so glad theres no more heights in my future

I worked in my brother's music store, 52 hours a week, took one or two classes at Florida State per quarter and either played in a band or worked for free in my brother's recording studio. I was busy. Earned a degree. Built a house. Created award winning advertising and helped bring thousands of people to an education at a community college. Better things to do than Emmanuel labor ... But if that's all you got, do it.

I did a roofing job in Indiana when I was like 11! We actually loved it. We bailed hay, mucked horse stalls, tore down barns, built barns, detassled corn. All kinds of little jobs. The money wasn’t much, lol, but we kinda partied at work half the time. You are talking about “This Old House” right?

Roofing work is some on of the hardest back breaking and satisfying jobs I have ever experienced. Laying shingles is like playing beginner Tetris all day, however, there is a Zen quality to the process. Repeating the same pattern over and over, not really having to think about it, yet the results have an artistic quality once completed. Hot tar roofing on the other hand is unique. Not only does it get on your skin but it gets in your blood. It becomes a way of life. Start the fire, heat it up, spread it on thick, and repeat.

I would not have had the guts to say thank you when he said "you are not like us". He could have been insulted and it could get ugly in a hurry. Your delivery is probably better than mine. Almost every blue collar job I have had gives me a couple stories. But the people are real! No fronts. White collar folks can be genuine, educated, and polite. But also fake.

Yankee Woodwright. I've been there Otis, and got stiffed on my pay a few times as well. Education indeed

Great story Otis, I have many, but I have to get back to work.

19, Unloading 100 lb coffee bean bags with a partner. He was doing one-hitters every 10 minutes. I was in decent shape but couldn’t keep up. They let me go at lunch . Free coffee during morning shift though

Good Morning Otis 😊

I took a roofing job one time….hauling bundles of asbestos shingles two stories up a ladder….worst “half a workday” of my life!

You only need diplomacy to swing a hammer 🔨😄.Great Story Otis. yeah done a few jobs like this. Non quite as hair raising.

Thanks Otis

I've been independently poor for sixty some years, and yes I have similar stories.

The trades are always gonna be tough. It takes a lot of grit to last in that atmosphere for sure. To me I always tried to make the most of it. I always 1) tried to take pride in doing something not alot of other people could last doing 2) that life will inspire you like nothing else to do do something bigger to get out. after all Vango lived with poor farmers living on coffee and bread scraps to paint.

Myself and a guy from the neighborhood, both of us about eighteen or so... We worked for guy who hired us and trained us to do wood framing for upscale homes. Every day was like an episode of "This old house." °°° I have had jobs (plural) that I was one of the few that showed up every day on time and wasn't under the influence of something. Every day at those jobs was like being on an episode of "Fear Factor."

Great story Otis! As for me been there done that.

Most of my life I spent doing crazy jobs climbing long ladders painting towers and building never caught a break until I started working for myself making signs.I was a deck ape in the Navy a heavy construction worker a day labor get paid at the end of the day kind of job.

This Old House. Great show.

Once again, well said

My first job was at an all night full service gas station. All by myself. We had a fifty dollar mandatory drop box safe in the floor. Second night I had fifty in my pocket and was about to go inside but the next customer stuck a gun in my face and took my fifty. I got fired and it was the only time in my life I was happy to get let go.

Thanks friend.. that brought back so many memories from summer jobs in the late 70s.. me and some friends hired on to help replace the roof on an old motel in Statesboro Ga. Boss said he’d get breakfast every morning.. which turned out to be a 16oz Budweiser and a honey bun from the convenience store. Another fun one was that we’d skip school every October and go help set up rides at the fair.. stoned high school kids set up the rides while stoned carnival workers instructed us.. yeah you can get some good stories on those jobs!

great story, otis...no crew of glue sniffers in my stories, but i've met some interesting characters from being a gas station attendant, a factory worker, a cab driver, a maintenance man, a painter, a bouncer, a tow truck driver amongst a bunch of other jobs. and, i have a college degree. one thing you learn from some of these jobs is what you don't want to spend most of your life doing.

Fountain Square was rough back in the day!

Back in the mid 70s I was in college. There were no student loans or grants unless you had served in the military. To pay for school, I worked on an old school garbage truck riding on the back dumping cans for 2 summers. The last 2 year I worked on a Teamsters loading dock during the summer. Oh, the tales I have from those life experiences. When I graduated with a business degree, I got several job offers at the entry level for $5 an hour. I went back to the loading dock and was hired full time with benefits for $9 an hour. Even back then, unless you were a frat boy with connections you had no real options. Funny how things haven't changed after all these years. Except kids today owe thousands of dollars in student loans that they will be paying off for most of their lives.

worked on a hot tar crew on flat roofs-would mop boiling hot tar(instead of glue) on deck than apply the membrane-to this day(72) cannot stand smell of hot tar! Peace

I always have my Saturday morning coffee with Otis

As a former commercial roofer I can confirm the accuracy of the this environment 100%.

I'm an old timer almost 70. Man the stories I could tell from different job sites when I was a young buck.😂 But what I am getting to. It seems to me not many of my countrymen do that kind of work anymore. All I see doing that work now are from south of the border. It's sad.

Never lookin for work indeed I resemble that remark brother Otis..just tryna gettn bye..lol... great Sanford and son reference btw...as ever thanks brother Otis Stephen Jules Otis career Rubin

As a musician and former roofer, I love your stories, Otis, this one brought lots of smiles, thanks!

After graduating high school, I worked on a bridge building crew with my buddy whose uncle owned the company. My wage was $7.74/hr in 1994 and I earned every dime of it. Now it's 30 years later and I'm working for my buddy who started his own bridge company. My hourly wage is 5X what it was in the 90's, and I hardly work at all.

Great story! The glue part reminds me of a Lynard Skynard documentary I watched and one of the guys talking about when they were kids starting out, you could put a model airplane together with Allen Collins’ breath

Ha i just quoted airplane before watching this ..guess i picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue

Hahaha yep. I like your philosophy on collecting stories. I do tile and stone to support my rambling. Find all kinds of critters out there