In nature we see alpha males fight each other for a dominant position within a clan or pride. Rams might knock horns, lions will take part in epic battles, humans get defensive and stubborn in their ways. I got to witness such an occurrence between Michael and Kurt today. We are making a platform that will help take water away from the house and divert it to a more deserving place for rain water. A couple days ago the two of them did some measurements to prepare for the cement pouring. Meanwhile I did menial jobs that are not hugely important, but if not done will just be annoying if they weren’t done. For example they were going to put a ton of rocks inside the cement to take up a lot of space. So they needed me to get the rocks and pile them up near the site. Not extremely complicated or massively important, but if not done, it would have made the cement day a bigger hassle.
Cement day came with all our hopes and dreams of a fantastic pouring and laying of pretty stones. We each had our jobs that were not necessarily assigned but just worked themselves out. Michael was to make the cement in his machine. I was on wheel burrowing detail. Kurt was on cement distribution and stone placing. We had our bases covered and our tasks clear, now all that was to do was to start the job. Michael is very particular about his mixture of cement in his machine. He has to have the right amount of water, the right amount of sand, the right amount of cement mix or else it is way off. It usually came out soupy no matter what he did. My job was a lot of waiting. Michael took a good 20 to 30 minutes between each mix. Wheel burrowing was a 10 second job. Do the math… Kurt had the hardest job. When he got the cement he had to level it, put the rocks inside of the cement, stomp it down, and then place decorative stones evenly on a downward slope. Mr. Kurt was prepared for the job until Michael threw a wrench in the machine. Instead of creating a nice foundation that would dry so that a nice top layer could be made evenly, Michael wanted Kurt to put the finishing touches on a soupy and very moveable surface.
Kurt did what he could, and actually did a pretty good job, but there are problem spots that could be avoided if foundations were made first. So today was going to be finish it off day. Alpha male vs. alpha male. If you are wondering I am a beta male. I have no place in making decisions or contributions in these type of situations. Followers don’t get dirty glances and will be invited to dinner that night. Michael was telling Kurt how he wanted it done, Kurt told him the proper way to do it and then silence. After much brooding and a slew of comments like “do whatever you want to do” and “why don’t you do it, it’s your house”, Michael left for more cement and Kurt did it his way. I am not really sure who won the battle royal. After two long days of waiting with a wheel burrow the platform is complete and looking like slab of concrete. I do what I can…
Moral of story, when two alphas fight go in after when they are both weak and dominate…
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