Afternoon Activity

At the end of our block, a company is doing some extensive work on the utilities.  I say extensive not because I know the scope of the work, but because it's duration:  it's been going on for more than a week.  At least four times now, Luis and I have walked down to watch.  We bring our snacks (usually popsicles, as it's starting to get hot) and a drink - and sometimes Ashley, and sit in the grass in the yard immediately in front of the work.  And we sit and watch the construction.  

We watch the excavator push steel plates around and the track hoe move the pile of dirt back into the hole.  We watch the men sweep the street and shovel the dirt.  (We mostly go late in the afternoon, so they are finishing up the work for the day.)  Luis provides a running commentary for all that he can describe (that man wears a blue hat, that digger is pushing dirt, that digger is little but this digger is big, that digger is putting dirt in dump truck) and asks questions about the things that he doesn't (Where is the dirt going?  Why are there three diggers?  What is that man doing?  Why does that man have a white hat?  Why is there a hole in the street? What's that pipe for?).  

The first time we took our front row seats, the men seemed to be a bit nervous about our presence.  Two of them immediately put on their (I'm sure, OSHA-required) safety vests.  But they've warmed up to us over the week;  they now smile at us and wave back when Luis waves.  Amongst each other, they speak Spanish.  So each day when we leave, Luis waves to them and shouts, "HASTA LUEGO MEN".