The Berlin Wall Comes Down

It's early and the construction workers are running around like mad. There is a lot of shouting and grunting. Today, the dreadful wall comes down.

For the entire year there has been construction in the building. That construction has been tucked away behind a very large, very obnoxious, very ugly wall. Due to it's unpopularity, it's been dubbed The Berlin Wall.  For months I have been looking at this wall, and today that is no more. Because the construction crew is finishing some final touches, the entire second floor is shut down.

Let me give you some perspective. I work as a receptionist in a large circular desk. Directly to my right is The Berlin Wall. To my left is a lobby and some small office spaces. Usually the construction workers and I will banter all day long, but they are too focused today. Jesse, my favorite, comes through the door with a large metal pipe. "Morning, sweetie," he says, "it's coming down today!" I smile because he knows that I have a strong distaste for The Berlin Wall. Jesse is a tall, burly Mexican man. I've never seen him not smiling. He is also the foreman of this particular crew and they all have the highest respect for him. He saunters off with his metal pipe and is followed by two of his workers who are also carrying pipes. The shorter one is Mexican and is wearing a neon orange shirt. The other man, who is also short, is named Daniel. He nods as he walks past-he's a shy one, he is. I hear the other men on the other side of the wall. They all shout to each other in Spanish and
I can't understand what they say.

Then I see it the first board come down. I see the new rooms on the other side. Herman is on the other side of the wall and he is busy unscrewing the board that will come down next. Herman, I'm guessing, is the oldest one on the crew. He's probably in his mid-sixties. His round pot-belly makes it difficult for him to get up and down. His white hair is tucked under his navy-blue bandana.

Joe is working on the side of the wall where I am. He's starting to get The Berlin Wall down from my side of the wall. Joe is a fit young buck. He has a thick, long black ponytail. His English is very poor but he tries very hard to make conversation.

Jesse and the two other guys come back to the second floor. They go and grab more medal pipes and then disappear to the first floor again.

I see two construction workers who I don't know do a touch-up paint job on the doors and on the walls. These two, like every other construction worker, are Mexican. They both appear to be mid-forties.