It's been a little cooler of late with night-time temperatures down in the low 'teens Fahrenheit (-10 or so Centigrade). This morning, regular as clockwork, the roofers appeared as it was starting to snow. For about an hour we had a whiteout with gusty winds and 14 F temperature. Astonishingly, throughout natures little tirade, we continued to hear scraping, banging, hammering and the other downtown Beirut noises that have become so much a part of our lives recently. We put it down shell-shock and went about our business.After the storm passed by all
was revealed. So enthusiastic are the roofers about their rooftop wrangling, they had erected a tarpaulin tent over the gazebo and all five of them worked under this temporary shelter to continue with the renovation. One nineteen year old unisex laborer, face bejeweled with piercings and baubles, remarked "I've been doing this for four years and I don't like it." An intelligent response to such a profound statement did not come readily to mind.
