Concrete in My Shorts (1994)
Kris and Adam wanted a basketball goal set up in the backyard after we moved to Pasadena. We framed a pad for the concrete. Saturday came and I drove to the local U-Cart-It concrete business for 2 cubic yards of concrete. The cart only holds one, so I knew I would need to make 2 trips.
I do not like wheelbarrows, so I use 5 gallon buckets to carry things. I parked the cart behind our house near the gate. I filled the buckets with concrete and carried them to the pad through our backyard gate. It was hot this August morning, so I was dressed in shorts, tennis shoes and a tee shirt.
The excess concrete spilled on the outside of each bucket. Occasionally, some concrete would fall into my shoes, but I paid little attention to it (and I never wear socks in the summer). Before I knew it, I was in pain! The concrete on the side of the buckets was grinding into my legs, while the concrete inside my shoes was eating the flesh off the tops of my feet.
Regardless, I wanted to complete the slab and I had another yard of concrete to spread. I returned with the second cart to complete the pour. By now my feet hurt so much that I washed them and wrapped them in plastic bags to minimize the exposure. Somehow, I managed to get a glob of concrete in my shorts, causing a caustic burn on my crotch, too! But I persevered and finished the concrete work.
It was at least 2 years before Adam and Kris began to use the basketball court.
-Wayland