This is one of the drafts. One of the papers in the case has the poem in its entirety, I believe, but it is in storage in the closet of the typewriter room at the moment.
I am going to have to cover up that sticker on the side that says 107DB. Otherwise, I will be forced to wear earplugs, as the threshold is 85DB. Ugh...
Concrete vibrator? Sounds painful.
ReplyDeleteI know zip about construction, but in Cincinnati they're building a casino and a floor collapsed recently, hurting quite a few workers. So my point is ... uh ... watch your typing fingers, I guess!
HA! Well, you attach a shaft to it, about eight feet long, and jam what is colloquially called 'the dick', which is the end of the vibrator shaft, into the concrete. This makes the cream rise and the rocks settle, giving the finishers something smooth to work with. Ever look at the side of a wall or slab of crete? The vibrator is what makes that smooth instead of riddled with aggregate.
DeleteThat sounds terrible. I have never been on a job with an accident such as that, but it is never good. I have broken a few fingers over the years, but they heal quick. Ha.
I think it would be more fun riding one of those things the concrete workers use to smooth out huge floors rather than a back pack. That is about what I know about concrete work, except that it comes via a big ole concrete mixer truck like one of the rural fire departments to which I belonged used for water tankers (a call to the local concrete company and they dispatched their trucks to haul water for tanker-shuttle)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful font on the SM9. Were the slugs made by CSA?
The ride-on trowel machines, yes. I do not use those, really. I place the concrete, and the finishers do their thing. We generally do not do much work to facilitate the use of such a machine, relying mostly on the walk-behinds (like a smaller version of the ride-on, only lawn mower style).
DeleteAnd...how would I tell if they were made by CSA? Better yet, what is CSA? I have never heard of it, tell you the truth.
You have one of those jobs where it all happens at once. Been there, but in foodservice. Good luck with it. We'll watch for your posts when you have the time.
ReplyDeleteOh no, that poem is.... well... very derivative. Like photos of beach sunsets, I wonder why so many people write poems about things that have been so beautifully done, but done to death by greeting cards.
ReplyDeleteAs for your stencilling, sounds very much like some workplaces I have worked in, in the past.
I vaguely feel I have seen that poem before, perhaps in Dear Abby about 30 years ago?
ReplyDeleteInteresting provenance anyway. I usually find nothing, but on rare occasions I see assignments from typing class. once I found evidence of family tree research.
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ReplyDeleteThis will probably be the first and last time for me to see a backpack concrete vibrator.
ReplyDeleteAll best in that big power plant job, Ken.
Thanks, Ton. I should be going there this coming Thursday. Still at the shop, for the time being. First two days I am there we are pouring about 150 cubic yards of concrete...and by 'we', I mean me and the guy operating the giant laser-screed. Awesome.
DeleteI will have to find a way to work a concrete vibrator into my "50 Shades of Grey" parody.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate to buy things new, there is something magical about a tool like that before it gets covered in the mess of its trade.
See, I do not stay up to date with a lot, but I have heard so many bad things about this '50 Shades' novel. Really, though, I have no idea what it is about. Only that it is, apparently, the worst thing since Twilight.
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