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Rate-a-Record Backyard Beats
Jumping genres keeps work spirits high, toiling under an early summer sun
I can feel sawdust in the creases of my neck. Dried droplets of sweat on my glasses obscure my vision. There’s a meandering line of blood running into my sock from a three-inch gash just above my right ankle, the result of puncturing myself with industrial staples from the cedar plank of the gate I disassembled to rebuild. My back aches, its ability to act like a rubber band is long gone, and my fingers are coated with rust from handling old screws. My shirt sticks to my chest, soaked by spray from the water bottle.
I am a complete mess, and I’m brilliantly pleased.
My work rotation consists of two weeks of night shifts, followed by a week off. Each day of my off week, I toiled under a blessedly hot June sun, repurposing the backyard hockey rink into a dozen garden boxes, a brick-bordered bed for raspberries, and a row of corn against the full-sun side fence.
Accompanying me through my labours is my small Bluetooth speaker. During the week, I burned through two audiobooks, but this day, I opted for music, seeking song to soothe my labours and dull the pain of exertion and injury. As part of my brain is constantly chewing over plotlines for fiction stories and reminiscing for memoirs, three songs…
