Redbow
Senior Member
My Stepdad's Uncle his blood kin but we all called the man Uncle Joe kin to him or not. Uncle Joe was a painter he made his living dragging a paint brush across the walls and ceilings in lots of houses. I have never seen a better painter than Uncle Joe was he was slow but he always did a professional job with painting and he was proud of his work.
I was a teen-ager at the time My Mom and Stepdad had built a new house my Stepdad was a builder. It took us a year to complete the new structure that we were going to live in most of the time working until 10 and 11 pm at night after my Stepdad got home from work and had his supper and also on week-ends. We usually worked on the new house all day on Saturdays but not on Sundays. We moved into the new house in the summer of 1961.
My Stepdad hired his Uncle Joe to do the painting for us inside the new house. Now Uncle Joe was an elderly man he was on in years and had Asthma pretty badly, I grew up with Asthma also. I remember the first day Uncle Joe showed up to begin painting, he started in the living room as it was the largest room in the house. After Uncle Joe arrived my Mom started putting drop cloths down on her new carpet. Uncle Joe saw what my Mom was doing he said to her, Doris my Mom's name just take the drop cloths away I don't need them. But my Mom protested, she told Uncle Joe well I don't want paint dropped on my new carpet. Uncle Joe replied, I will not drop even one drop on your new carpet I know other painters would but I won't. My Mom was still skeptical about Uncle Joe's words but she finally relented to his wishes.
I watched Uncle Joe as he began to paint the ceiling from his stepladder. The old man was pulling for his breath as he worked I knew his Asthma was bothering him pretty badly but he worked all day long painting my Mom's new living room. When he got through neither my Mom nor I could find one drop of paint on her new carpet. My Mom was amazed and so was I but Uncle Joe just smiled at us. Even in his old age Uncle Joe could trim out a window and never get any paint on the glass. If ever there was a professional painter Uncle Joe fit in among their ranks.
Uncle Joe went on to paint all the rooms in our new house and my Mom quit worrying about him dropping paint on her new carpet. The den and kitchen walls in our new house were knotty pine so all Uncle Joe had to paint in the kitchen/den combination was the ceilings. How this man could paint and never drop even one drop on a floor was a mystery to me and it still is today. Many people hired Uncle Joe to do painting work for them he was slow but no man would do a better painting job for anyone than Uncle Joe. He was slow and he liked his whiskey, sometimes while painting for someone Uncle Joe would take a couple days off and nurse his bottle of booze I guess maybe the whiskey helped his Asthma a bit.
I know this thread about Uncle Joe few will believe that the man could paint ceilings and walls and never drop one drop of paint on anything, it sounds far fetched but he could and did. If anyone ever asked Uncle Joe how he could do that he would just pause and say, I have been doing this for a long time and I don't get in any hurry for anyone with my painting.
Uncle Joe passed on sometime in the seventies. I guess I should go by one day and place a paint brush on his tombstone. RIP Uncle Joe.
I was a teen-ager at the time My Mom and Stepdad had built a new house my Stepdad was a builder. It took us a year to complete the new structure that we were going to live in most of the time working until 10 and 11 pm at night after my Stepdad got home from work and had his supper and also on week-ends. We usually worked on the new house all day on Saturdays but not on Sundays. We moved into the new house in the summer of 1961.
My Stepdad hired his Uncle Joe to do the painting for us inside the new house. Now Uncle Joe was an elderly man he was on in years and had Asthma pretty badly, I grew up with Asthma also. I remember the first day Uncle Joe showed up to begin painting, he started in the living room as it was the largest room in the house. After Uncle Joe arrived my Mom started putting drop cloths down on her new carpet. Uncle Joe saw what my Mom was doing he said to her, Doris my Mom's name just take the drop cloths away I don't need them. But my Mom protested, she told Uncle Joe well I don't want paint dropped on my new carpet. Uncle Joe replied, I will not drop even one drop on your new carpet I know other painters would but I won't. My Mom was still skeptical about Uncle Joe's words but she finally relented to his wishes.
I watched Uncle Joe as he began to paint the ceiling from his stepladder. The old man was pulling for his breath as he worked I knew his Asthma was bothering him pretty badly but he worked all day long painting my Mom's new living room. When he got through neither my Mom nor I could find one drop of paint on her new carpet. My Mom was amazed and so was I but Uncle Joe just smiled at us. Even in his old age Uncle Joe could trim out a window and never get any paint on the glass. If ever there was a professional painter Uncle Joe fit in among their ranks.
Uncle Joe went on to paint all the rooms in our new house and my Mom quit worrying about him dropping paint on her new carpet. The den and kitchen walls in our new house were knotty pine so all Uncle Joe had to paint in the kitchen/den combination was the ceilings. How this man could paint and never drop even one drop on a floor was a mystery to me and it still is today. Many people hired Uncle Joe to do painting work for them he was slow but no man would do a better painting job for anyone than Uncle Joe. He was slow and he liked his whiskey, sometimes while painting for someone Uncle Joe would take a couple days off and nurse his bottle of booze I guess maybe the whiskey helped his Asthma a bit.
I know this thread about Uncle Joe few will believe that the man could paint ceilings and walls and never drop one drop of paint on anything, it sounds far fetched but he could and did. If anyone ever asked Uncle Joe how he could do that he would just pause and say, I have been doing this for a long time and I don't get in any hurry for anyone with my painting.
Uncle Joe passed on sometime in the seventies. I guess I should go by one day and place a paint brush on his tombstone. RIP Uncle Joe.
