Great Roger Kimball piece at the WSJ today on his attempt to return his Sandy-damaged house to its pre-storm condition. He takes the reader through the Kafkaesque labyrinth of requirements cooked up by levels ranging from his local zoning board to FEMA.
I'm reminded of a story that I'm not sure I've told at LITD before.
In a former life, I spent some time at my family's manufacturing company. Contract metal-stamping. Coils of steel fed into punch pressed fitted with dies. (Press operator during college summers, then cost estimating, culminating in taking over as president. It was long ago and a miserable time in my life. I sold the company, finished my master's degree in history and went a markedly different direction. Not all of us are suited for everything.)
One day, an OSHA inspector came a-calling. An affable sort, very cordial. During a brief conversation in the front-office foyer it was revealed that he had some private-sector industrial experience. We listened politely, and then my father informed him that he would need to see a warrant signed by a judge. The inspector grinned slightly and said, "You do realize that this extra formality only delays my inevitable audit by a day." My dad said, "Indeed we do. We're just doing it because we can."
Now, my relationship with my father was multi-layered and complex, but I can say I was never prouder of him than in that moment.
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