You know the old cliché, “better to be poor in America that rich any were else.” It is usually spoken by middle class who have never been to other countries let alone understood or lived in poverty here in the US. But, even so, there is so much truth wrapped up in this thought. The most thought associated with this is that the poor has it easy here is the underlying accusation and it is (for the most part) true. America’s indigents do have several resources here to aid in their plight that is not in every country.

However the better thought behind the saying is more on the value of liberty. It’s the idea that liberty is worth more that status, money, power, even food and life. It is such a strong and powerful idea that it still rings out today after 235 years. “We pledge our life’s, our fortune’s and our sacred honor.”, is more than just a clever saying. Many who signed that document did in fact die and many lost their fortunes and family for this idea. Why? Is liberty that important?

Well yes it is important. That is obvious. But beyond that it is our obligation to human development and knowledge that behooves us to fight for this ideal. Liberty is given to each individual from God and that, in and of itself, gives us charge to pursue it and protect it. If ever you witness injustice it is you solemn duty to defend this precious God gift. The requirement is bound to every American, to pledge your live, your fortune, and your sacred honor for the preservation of liberty, because it’s God’s gift you are preserving.

We all would rather become poor in defending preserving, and pursuing liberty that to become a rich tyrant.

Happy Independence Day!

Memorial Day is here and my mind drifts off to a distant field where we find thousands of crosses lined up in a row. And not just one row but thousands of rows of thousands of crosses with the occasional Star of David in amongst them. The grass is a beautiful green and every so often a large oak tree raises its huge canopy of branches up to the bright sunshine. And in one area we find a gathering of formal, black dressed, people standing around a simple awning that slightly dances in the cool breeze. Under its shade a coffin sets in a postulant position with Old Glory draping it from head to toe with two honor guards posted at each end. A military chaplain concluded his message and a command is given by a Sargent. Instantly the group of armed Marines comes to attention, their faces solemn and grim with the understanding that this is the last and final post of their fallen brother. Another command is given the two men posted at the coffin reach out and pick up the ends of the flag and stand at attention. Then without a hesitation a sixteen gun salute rings out across an entire nation. The honor guard begins the sincere duty of folding the flag. Every motion of this act has been done millions of times on countless shores but this powerful deed will never lose its meaning. Fold after fold, crease after crease till only the blue field of stars is exposed. With a final firm grip, the one honor guard turns in a perfect military form and hands the folded flag to the chaplain. He salutes, and the two march to their position in the ranks. The chaplain turns and faces the family of the fallen and the sound of Taps from a sad horn rings out across the field and it stirs every heart that hears it. He reaches out with the flag and presents it to a woman whose face is stained with tears. She reaches out with tender, trembling hands to except it. The chaplain not willing to release it yet holds it firmly and gently embraces her hands around the flag and prepares himself to say the only words a nation can give. With the hardest spoken words a Marine can say, he utters them in a low, considerate voice.

“On behalf of a grateful nation”

It doesn’t say enough but it’s all we can say. So in return for the little spoken we do all we can to not forget these brave souls. We memorialize their accomplishments and remember their names. Those that are lost or don’t come home rest in our national heart at the tomb of the unknown with a never ending flame to symbolize the light that exists because of them. We set aside a day to reflect and bring back to life the sacrifice that is required for freedom. Let us not forget.

Our minds also go out to the distant posts where the men and women in uniform are serving all over the world. Our hearts are with you and we honor you this day. We love your commitment to your station as many of you are separated from your families. Thank you! Thank you! From a grateful nation it is our hope that you return triumphant and with honor. And to the veterans whose duty is done. We honor your service as well. You have set the path for others to follow and we thank you!
We pledge to never forget you or your service……………………

I love this holiday. It invokes so much American tradition and long held belief that there is a God who bestows his goodness on us and thanks are in order. From the Pilgrims struggles to start a new family managed society to our grandparents depression stories and from the forefathers of our nation, to the solder in the field of battle on a faraway desert.  This tradition is deep to our core. It’s buried deep into our identity as an American that it will endure until the end of time. Its expresses our goodness and our greatness all wrapped together. We are a nation of families and tomorrow we will give thanks for all that we have been entrusted.

And now I send out a big thank you first to my God and King, Jesus Christ for the many gifts of goodness and mercy that he has blessed me with. To my Wife whose love and partnership is a blessing that is the best part of life on this earth. To my family spread all over the world. To my wonderful, hardworking employees, you are the best in the world and I am grateful to be working alongside you. To the American Solder, thank you (s) are not good enough for your committed service to our nation. To the patriots bloody feet, and starving a long winter for an idea. To our police, first responders, and firemen, who are on call as we set down to a large meal and partake? To the many friends, colleagues, and clients, thank you, thank you thank you.

It’s a good idea to list out the many things you are grateful for. A spirit of gratitude will make your personal struggles easier to bear.

Last year I told you about this ceiling at the Harris County courthouse.Hard to believe it was over a year ago. We have now made molds of the elements, cast all the items needed to recreate the ceiling and installed the pieces. The ceiling was framed in and plastered, and finished in a slick white coat finish by Golden West Plastering of Houston Texas. They did an exceptional job. We typically like to control all the plastering as it is hard to find plasterers that understand how to plaster a ceiling that is flat and true to plane, any imperfections will make it tough to install the pieces but in this case the work was perfect.

In this photo we have laid out control lines to install all the pieces to. It is extremely important to flow the lines as any deviation will show up as you look down the ceiling.
After checking the layout and making sure all the electrical devices as well as the fire sprinklers will fit into the pattern correctly we start installing the pieces.

After installing all the pieces we will “tool up” the joints and make the joint lines disappear. Tedious and slow work for sure. blue lines are the centers of the elements the red lines are the edges of the corners in the quadrennial. We then labeled the elements to insure we alternated the elements.

The crown mold and frieze that runs along the wall both have a pattern in them that requires us to start from one direction and make all the cuts correctly to keep the pattern flowing all around the ceiling. Tougher than it looks but it  makes a big difference. We started out from the only original piece left in the room and kept the pattern flowing. The trick is to find the most inconspicuous place to hide this.

The old way was to find a door the opens against a corner of the room and hide the joint there. That way as you enter the room you would have to turn all the way around to see the miss pattered joint.  However we had to start from the historic piece and continue around the room and end up on the other side of the historic piece. I challenge you to find the bad joint. (I know where it is but as of yet no one else has been able to find it)

Our decorative painters have also started painting the ceiling. It also is a very labor intensive painting project. It has two colors on the ceiling a yellow ceiling paint and a glazed painted surface on the ornamentation. Glazes tend to show all the imperfections in the plaster but luckily none showed up. So here is the completed mockup area . Now that we have complete acceptance of the paint procedure we can finish the paint. We will be doing so in the next two weeks.

Finished ceiling

On Wednesday I had an owners meeting in Ft. Worth concerning the restoration work on the T&P Train Station Lobby Ceiling. Long drive up and back, it makes for a lot of time to reflect. I left at 4:30a.m., because I wanted to get there well before the meeting started so that I could look for problems and get them corrected or, God forbid, covered up. This is a very intricate ceiling and I have become somewhat attached to this beauty ever since I was involved with it’s original restoration 10 years ago.

The ceiling was subject to some damage due to remodeling the upper floors into condo units. They contracted Professio to come in and repair the damage and inspect the ceiling for any additional damage.

I was heavily involved in the Harris County Courthouse restoration, so my time on this project would have to be merely overseeing it and doing paperwork. It was very nerve-racking to me that I would not be physically on the project. Luckily, I was able to put two of my most trusted people on the project Kevin Castleberry and Jessie Kitchens. I have worked with them in the past and, though we might not always see eye to eye as to the proper procedures, I know that both of them can be trusted to think through the restoration thoroughly and do what is best for the building. I really had no reason to think that they would not do a great job, but I could not help but worry about it. I know that Jessie was a little annoyed at all the calling and my constant fretting over protection of the marble and the chandeliers.

We are also doing the painting on the ceiling. This is not in my area of expertise, but I have been around it enough to understand at least some of the issues with decorative painting. (I know just enough to be dangerous.) Thankfully the company was fortunate enough to lure away from our competition, a very talented artist, Machelle Wood, to run our decorative paint division. I have worked with Machelle and have a deep respect for her abilities so I had a huge degree of confidence in her ability to do the painting on this very complicated project. However, she was now heavily involved in the protection of a very important fresco mural on the Garcia Federal Building that we had under contract and it would require that she stay in San Antonio during this restoration. She assured me that she knew a man in Utah that could paint this ceiling with no problem. She contacted Todd Stubbs and he agreed to come to Ft. Worth and do the project.

So now I have a man, whom I never met, coming to paint a very complicated intricate ceiling. Machelle could feel my uneasiness and offered to drive up on weekends to work on matching all the colors and glazes and I met with her the first time, even though I really was not any help. I think I was there only to squelch my own personal fears. She worked all weekend and turned around and drove 4 hrs back to San Antonio so she could be back onsite on Monday on the mural. She truly is a dedicated professional and we at Professio are proud to have her.
So back to my trip…

I was driving up to have a meeting with the owner’s reps, the architect Donna Carter of Carter Design Associates and the general contractor Wood Partners. I know we have done some painting and Machelle and Jessie have reassured me that it is looking good, but, well, I couldn’t help but be a little on edge. This architect has a very discerning eye. We don’t have any extra time to redo work, and I have not seen any of it so my stomach is in knots.

I arrived an hour before the meeting, which was exactly my plan. As I walked toward the building, I told myself not to get caught up in admiring the work, but to look for potential problems. I entered the room and started my inspections. It all looked wonderful, but again I asked myself, “Where is the problem that the architect or owner might bring up?” Is the floor clean? Yes, in fact it is spotless. Are the paints and materials stored professionally? Are all the precautions that the owner and architect requested in place? Do all the colors match? Can I tell the difference between where we repaired to where we did not work?

Todd came down from the scaffold and asked me what I thought. I respond, “I think it is perfect!” I can’t seem to find anything wrong. The only thing I want to change before our customers arrive is to remove the plastic tarp protection we had placed around the scaffold, just so that they could get an even better look at our work.

The owner’s rep and the architect arrived, and I couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say. She walked around and really didn’t say much. The owner’s rep, however, couldn’t stop praising our work. After a bit the architect turned and said, “Perfect, I can’t find a thing wrong! It all looks wonderful. I see one shiny spot on the dark medallion, which I know is where we repaired. But as I look at the other dark medallions they have shiny spots also, so I really can’t say it needs to be fixed. You have really done a stunning job of matching the finishes.”

As I drove back to Houston, I reflected on just how wonderful it is to have good quality people who are committed to excellence. Thank you team!  Kevin, Jessie, Machelle, and Todd, You guys are truly great artisans and I’m proud to be associated with you!