down memory lane

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Posted by Zonie on October 18, 2025 at 21:10:49

From January to April of 2007 I worked as a construction laborer for Valley Rain. There I had some of my best worksite mud experiences. At a jobsite in Tolleson I slipped on a muddy slope and slid down a hill in the mud. At a jobsite in southwest Phoenix, I volunteered to crouch down in mud pits to hold the grade pole so the supervisor could use the laser to judge the depth of the concrete to pour. At two of the jobsites, dust abatement regulations required a water truck to be running all the time, so I got to walk in the mud almost every day.

One day in April, the supervisor told me he had been directed to lay me off. He had no complaints he had expressed about my work, so I had no reason to believe I wasn't eligible for rehire, but I moved on to other things and eventually spent 17 years as a furnace operator.

Now that I'm out of work again and the metallurgical and aerospace industries seem dead, I was looking for other opportunities. I was astonished that Valley Rain was hiring laborers again, but what was really shocking was that it was an H2B visa job. Really? They can't find Americans to work such a fun job? Anyway I sent my resume to the HR lady and in my cover e-mail reminded her that I had worked as a laborer for Valley Rain before. They'll know that at least one American wants to do this work again!

We had our last severe thunderstorm Monday afternoon. Since then we've dried out and are having more typical autumn weather (60°F in the morning, 85°F in the afternoon). Today I decided to go to the east segment of Reach 11.

There was plenty of mud to enjoy there. At one point I found the south trail occupied by ducks and about knee deep in water, but there were other areas where it was still mud. The mosquitoes were troublesome but not quite was bad as at the west segment last Saturday.

Just west of 56th Street, I saw a single fairly large tire track through a mud hole. I think I found the vehicle shortly after that. I headed east and went to the north trail where there were still some mud puddles and there I saw a man walking a fat tire dirt bike. The rear tire was partly detached. I assume that was the vehicle that made the track. I hope he wasn't far from his truck.

Soon after that I turned back. I headed to the north trail west of 56th Street, but there wasn't a lot of mud there. I then ended my hike after 3¼ hours.

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