Another Memory

Dad was a real do it your selfer, before that term had even been thought of. In his day it was called,getting by the best way you knew how. He was a talented man when it came to that. Skilled in many trades. At various times he worked as a carpenter,plumber,automobile mechanic,stationery engineer,electrician and marine mechanic. So when he decided to add a second story to our house, it came as no big surprise.
Also, not a man to waste materials, and one with a limited budget some inventiveness was required. Creative thinking that is. Uncle Pete was a contractor and volunteered to help. On the day chosen Uncle Pete and his crew showed up and began. I was pretty young but remember some of the process and have heard the story many times. First the roof was braced internally.Then the side walls where cut through around the perimeter. A crane was attached and the roof lifted off the house. Like taking the top off a box ! What a sight it was. Sadly, to the best of my knowledge, no pictures exist today of that operation. From inside the house you wouldn't have known it it all. The ceiling was still there. Outside was a different sight altogether. Where's the roof ?
Working as quickly as possible,new walls where built for the second floor. These frames were set into place and in no time at all, the roof was sat down upon them. Sheathing was nailed up and presto,a second floor had been added to our home. In one day ! Amazing . Of course there was still a lot of interior work to be done. A stairwell had to be built,interior walls erected,windows installed and plumbing and electrical. Dad did all that after work in the evenings. Eventually we had one very large bedroom,a smaller bedroom and a full bath upstairs. The large bedroom spanned the width of the house and was intended for my two brothers and myself. The small bedroom was for my sister.
I do remember helping,we all did,painting and finishing the rooms. The floor was simple plank board flooring. Most likely pine. I vividly remember the painting of the floor. It was a glossy gray color. Probably it was deck paint that Dad had gotten somewhere. The fun part came after that. Dad had a collection of  cans of various colors. Red,yellow,blues and orange. He gave each one of us children a small stick. Then he explained what he wanted us to do. Stir the paint thoroughly. Then dip that stick in the paint and allow a stream of paint to fall on the floor. What ? Purposely spatter paint on the floor ? No,not spatter, draw circles,lines and designs on the floor. In all the different colors.It was like a huge work of abstract art ! I loved it ! What fun that was. As I said,it was a very large room and so we had a big canvas.
My sisters room wasn't done that way or the hallway. I don't really remember what those floors looked like but I remember my bedroom floor. I can still picture it to this day. Whatever the paint was it was durable that much is for sure. It stayed that way for many years and to the best of my knowledge still is.
You are not aware at the time that the reason was simple economics. That simple plank board flooring was inexpensive. And covering it with carpeting wasn't an option either. So,to add a little color and pizzazz Dad had us paint it. We owned that floor ! For a long time after I would look at the swirls of paint and remember doing that. I did that yellow lightning streak right there ! My brother did that one. Good times and good memories. For just a few years all three of us boys shared that room. We all crawled on that floor and played with our trucks and trains. The paint swirls become roads,towns,clouds and all matter of things. It was an excellent floor ! One of the best,ever.