Russ Bickerstaff

Building the Building

 

They had finally built that wall. It took them forever to get to it. They kept talking about building it. But only because people kept telling them to build the wall. And so they did. They didn't get to it right away. They just kept reassuring everybody that the wall would be built. It wasn't really that much of a hassle once they actually got down to work on it. But there was always something that was just lurking there beyond the reach of their agenda. Finally things are cleared up and just the right way that they were able to do what they needed to do. And so they built the wall.

​

It took them so little time to build the wall that they didn't really have time to consider why they were building it. Everyone had just been so insistent about making sure that they built the wall. They couldn't figure out why it was that they needed to build a wall. After all, it wasn't actually attached to anything. It was just a wall. Out there in the middle of nowhere. Because people told them to build it. They did. But it didn't really seem to have any purpose. And it seemed kind of strange just out there in the middle of nowhere.

​

It didn't take long for them to decide to build a few more walls. To make it look a little bit more like it actually had a place to belong, they had to have more of a structure. And so they built three other walls that were all connected. It actually looks kind of nice.

When they'd finally gotten everything together on it. They were all pretty happy with it. Not that the four walls that were connected really had any purpose. And there is no way to get inside them. They were so busy making sure that the wall made sense visually that they weren't actually thinking about it being functional at all. So they went in and carefully made sure that they could build some kind of door. And as long as they were doing that they decided to build another door on the other side. Just to make sure that it was all up to code and everything.

​

It seemed more or less finished. Except when it rained. Or when the weather got cold and it started to snow. It occurred to them that they had neglected to actually make it a building. Cause it kinda looked like one. But only kinda. Because there was a egg tree door in an exit door. And there were four walls. But that was it. So they decided to put a ceiling over the thing. And a roof. And as long as they were doing that, they felt it really important to dig out a whole bunch of Earth beneath the walls. And build some kind of basement. By the time they were all finished, they kind of felt like they actually built a building. Out there in the middle of nowhere.

​

There were also those who figured it wasn't exactly finished. But why were they building in the first place? That was the bigger question. Because if they knew the answer to that, then they would certainly know the answer to whether or not they were finished building it. It had a basement. It had a roof. It had four walls and two doors. For all practical intents and purposes it was finished. But it wasn't really finished until I actually went into use. Because it was a perfectly functional building. But it wasn't actually functional until it was functioning as a building. For whatever purpose they needed it to be used for, it certainly needed to be used for something in order for it to be truly finished.

​

No one seems to want to come forward. So they made a parking lot. However, it wasn't exactly easy to get to the building. So they had to build a street that went from the highway to the building and its parking lot. Everything seemed more or less finished.

Except for the fact that that building didn't have a purpose. And everybody was kind of waiting around for them to decide whether or not they were finished building it. They could simply take off the roof and continue building up. Then there were those that figured it would probably be a good idea to build at least a second floor. 

​

It was a long way to drive to get there. That was the problem. And if it was just one floor, it would seem kind of strange. Can't do much in a building that size. There isn't much incentive to put anything out there if it's just one story tall. And the parking lot was way too big for a building that small. Everybody more or less agreed that they needed to do something with it to make it bigger. But nobody could agree on whether it needed to be taller or have more of a basement. So they were those who started work on building at the building op. And they were those that were working on building the building down. They were a few who had discussed the possibility of adding to the ground floor as well. And they got to work on that.

​

It's been years since they started all of the expansion work. It's hard to tell exactly how tall it is. Maybe they'll eventually decide to stop building it up. And it just keeps going down. I'll release the valves so that they can push out of the Earth as they continue to build down. However, they are getting in the way of the sprawling ground floor. Which at this stage is encroaching on the rest of the city. 

​

And there have been some discussions of the possibility of annexing a few city blocks so that it can continue to be built. Theoretically at that stage someone might make a decision. Someone might decide to actually start to occupy the building. Although, there are those who suggest that it's already started to happen. They just haven't told anyone yet. It's hard to say. But it's going to happen eventually. That building is going to get used for something. And I just hope that I'm alive when it happens.

​

​