This is a story of hard work and pride in a job well done.

My brother in law and his brother own their own landscaping company. They started it back in 1986 with an old Ford pickup, some rakes, shovels and mowers, along with a great work ethic.

They work as hard as anyone I know and, to date, they've only made one really big mistake that I can think of...

They hired me.

Back in the summer of 1986, me and a buddy of mine were looking for summer work so we could make a little beer money and sock away a little spending cash for college. Todd had recently married my girlfriend's sister, so after listening to his teenage sister in law, he grudgingly agreed to take us two knuckleheads on board.

We showed up for work, and it was hot. aytch oh tee hot. Georgia summer hot. Fuck you hot. The job was a residential one just a little ways from downtown Alpharetta. They were busting ass to finish and both brothers were out there with us. We were tasked with spreading pinestraw while the sprinklers were on to water shrubs and trees that were in the ground and near death thanks to the heat and lack of rain. Paul and I trudged around in ankle-deep mud wearing jeans, workboots and no shirts, bent over at the waist all damn day.

And you know what? It was fucking awful. When that day was over, we headed back to Paul's house. His parents were out of town, so we got some cold beers and sat in the den nursing our horrific sunburns and aching backs and said "Fuck this. No money's worth this. We're quitting."

So the next morning, we don't show up and when Todd calls to find us, I inform him of our decision, and he says "fine" and hangs up. Fast forward about six years, and I ended up marrying that same girl that begged Todd to give me a job. I could have been imagining it, but I think he looked at me a little bit funny for about a decade. I can't be sure of this, so you'd have to ask him.

Anyway, fast forward another ten years and I moved into his neighborhood, and I think that now he's finally forgiven me.

I don't know why I told that story. It's not germane to anything other than that was just one day of what those two brothers have had to deal with for twenty years.

Today, nearly 20 years later, the company has grown quite a bit and is doing fine looking work all over the city and state. If you live in Georgia (particularly in the metro Atlanta area), I can guarantee that you see their handywork no less than a couple of times a day, every day, while driving anywhere.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is that after an astonishing amount of hard work, the two brothers are about to see the completion of their first commercial building to be occupied in part by their company. They are planning to lease 2/3 of the building to other companies. Here is a picture of it.

Of course, you should imagine it with the brick skin on the outside, but you get the point.