There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

The adage holds true most of the time. What I have found is the statement is rather “light.” Lunch is “not free,” and is usually quite expensive.

When dad bought the property at May Creek Estates near Gold Bar, Washington he planned to build a mountain getaway for his family. Today the area is primary single family homes rather than weekend retreats.

I haven’t driven by there for many years. I imagine the cabin is still there, but it could just have easily been replaced with something else. Someday when I am heading east of the mountains I will swing through.

I have mentioned in earlier writings on the “frugalness” of my father (reference: “Saturday Morning Haircuts,” “I Remember…” [Cleaning Wally Weiger’s chicken coop just to get the fertilizer] or [Making our own lawn fertilizer by buying the ingredients at Burdic Feed in Kent]).

If I have learned anything from my father, it can be boiled down to a few things: “Stuff is expensive,” and “Measure once, measure again, think about it, remark the board, measure one more time and then cut – wood is expensive!" (Apparently so is fertilizer).

In the interest of saving a buck or two, my dad got this “wild hair” in the very early sixties. I am not sure what the advertisement said “Free Wood” or “Very Nearly Free Wood (BYOS)." BYOS means “bring your own slaves.”

I had mentioned earlier about the “green movement.” My dad had the opportunity to “recycle” a cabin as the basis for ours… simply tear apart this cabin – scavenge the wood, using small laborers related to you – Hint: you can even teach them to “pull a nail or two.”

I don’t recall how long we worked tearing down that cabin, but dad had solicited friends to help – maybe I should say “former friends.” We probably paid more for the wood then if we had bought new at a lumber yard. We spent hours, and I remember at least one day it poured buckets – no free lunch!

In the end we built a wonderful cabin, and used some recycled boards from that original one. For some time you could see the difference between the wood “purchased through the ad” and that purchased at the lumber yard… And I learned to pull nails.

- Craig