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Lawn chair observers like to keep an eye on McCook happenings
LORRI SUGHROUE
McCook Daily Gazette
McCOOK, Nebraska -- It's about taking it one day at a time and enjoying the world in front of them, for Raymond Long of McCook and his sister, Janet.
Every morning since the beginning of summer, even in the triple digit heat, they drive to East Sixth and E, set up their lawn chairs on the sidewalk across the street and watch the construction work that is converting the former East Ward school into senior housing units.
They've become such a mainstay that sometimes the construction workers jokingly call out and ask if they're doing it right, Raymond said.
They show up at 9 a.m., take a break for lunch around 12, then come back and stay until 3 or 4 p.m.
"Every day it's something different," Raymond said on why they show up each day. "My dad worked construction, I did construction, so it's interesting to me."
His sister, Janet, likes to watch for different reasons.
"We live in this community and this is one of the improvements they are making," she said, adding that they have also watched the construction of the new event center at McCook Community College and the city office building on West Fifth. "It's fun to see what it will look like. It's like watching the growth of McCook."
The siblings are as regular as clock work and even the heat hasn't deterred them, they said.
"You find a good shade tree and get a good breeze every now and then, the heat doesn't bother you," Raymond said.
Janet motioned across the street and added,"When you stop and think about it, those guys work hard in these temperatures every day."
People who drive by aren't quite sure what to make of them. Some wave, some just stare. Those walking by sometimes ask questions on the construction.
"One young kid thought they were putting up the jail," Raymond recalled.
Both intend to stay until it's completed. Until that time, "It beats sitting around in an apartment all day," watching the walls," Raymond said.