“I have been cleaning septic tanks for 35 years and it is a good way to meet people and to be outside. I love my work, but people forget about septic tanks until they have a problem. Septic tanks tell a lot about what goes on inside a house and you find a lot of things when you take off the cover. You name it, I’ve pumped it, including holding tanks where they embalm bodies. I was happy when they went on sewer. I fell into a septic tank two years ago and I was up to my waste in sewage. I was skint up like I went through barbed wire and went straight in for a tetanus shot. I did this work with my dad and there was no such thing as a vacation when we got out of school. I learned about plumbing and electrical from my dad and did most of the work building our house. I am now rebuilding a ’51 Ford. I saw it parked in a driveway and thought ‘someone has got them a pile of work.’ Now I have got the pile of work.”