“A house must be built on solid foundations if it is to last. The same principle applies to man.”

– Sai Baba, Indian guru, yogi and fakir

“Get ready to start swinging!”

“OK,” I yelled back and raised the maul over my shoulder.

I was helping my aunt and uncle pour the foundation for their new home – with the help of a few neighbours, of course. This was back before the time of giant concrete pumping units with their large booms. Though we were able to pour much of the concrete into the forms directly from the chute on the cement truck, a great deal of it still had to be transported by wheelbarrows on wobbly planks. We shoveled, tamped, banged and generally coerced that concrete into place over the course of one hot af...

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