Things learned the hard way.

I'm slowly learning that no mater how ridiculous someones opinion of the global warming issue is, I should tread a tad more lightly in my efforts to explain it to them.

 

Have you noticed my conspicuous absence from that thread, Boston.

 

I have, as well as a few others. I'd like to think its cause I've got it handled. But that might be a tad wishful thinking. Could be the ludicrous views often expressed by the anti science crowd. Could be my own frustrations. Who knows, probably part each.

 

I was once told by our current sitting vice president, that you can't legislate stupidity out of the populace. I was on his very first election campaign staff. I mention this in light of Phil's last comment.

 

kayak

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No, I don't remember them Phil.......

 

I think Roy's boat was the first.
I had one for some years. I had purchased the kayak from him off the deck of the nice teak hulled ketch he was cruising on.
The boat is pictured here along with the kayaks and their history:
http://www.royak.com/history.shtml

I almost bought the ketch as well as he was just then finishing up cruising and Jofian was for sale.
A remarkable man & I am glad to see he is well as this is the first time I looked into his whereabouts.

 

I ran across them in the Caribbean many times. Interesting guy. He suffered a terrible loss in Dominica I believe it was. Never saw him after that.

 

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In the water pix added to post 12........

 

Yes- I met him shortly after that loss.
He was leaving off cruising & I believe he might have kept at it longer if not for this.

 

So the owner calls to say a package of parts I ordered has arrived. I walk through the rain 1/4 mile on my day off to get the box and walk home with it. Last time they sent me the wrong parts, so I open the box immediately. Somebody's Christmas present. Not my size either. Now I'm wandering around in the rain looking for some one expecting a present. Rain pretty much obliterated the name. This is an RV park. Welcome to my world. I don't really work here, but it's starting to feel that way. Found someone who thinks it's theirs. Good enough.

 

In 1970 I was working a a lumber yard and home improvement store in Tampa called Lindsley Lumber. One day the assistant manager, Ted White, told me to re-stock some items that were lined up on the clear divider that was around the administrative officle at the front of the store. As I reached to grab a can of pimento red spray Rustoleum, I knocked it off the ledge, where it fell onto a circular saw on the floor in the officle out of my field of vision. The pressurized can hit one of the saw teeth and that's when the excitement began. That thing jumped up in the air spinning cart-wheels and spiraling paint over everything including ledgers etc., including Ted's olive green overcoat which was hanging nearby. He was very unhappy about that. I asked him what the overcoat cost him and he replied, "3 years of my life". It was his army issue coat.

 

On another occasion I was mixing paint for a customer but forgot to tighten down the can in the mixer. Just as the assistant manager went walking by the can vibrated loose and was ejected from the machine like a depth charge being arced over the stern. I dove like an outfielder and caught the gallon can about 5 inches before it hit the floor. His eyes went wide, he shook his head and walked away without uttering a word. That was 1973.

 

I was the class darling in some elementary school class.
A teachers pet who was trusted to run errands and the like.

One fine day I was asked to fetch a can of spray paint needed for some project from the upper shelf of the teachers coat closest where it was kept.

On reaching far overhead for the can I missed and grabbing at the top managed to pull it off the shelf and after hitting the spray button on the top.
It fell to my feet neatly painting stripes down the front of the fur coat the lady teacher had in the locker.
No explanation was possible.

Vanity before the fall...


Years later I was a trusted worker in my first job in construction. Sent three stages up to install the antique crystals in a chandelier. I perched up there with buckets of long leaded glass spears and set to work.
Somehow I pulled too many from one side and the whole lot went over.
Cascading down like a glass waterfall to shatter themselves and the newly installed Italian marble floor tiles far below.

Vanity before the fall...

 

Oh they loved you my friend, I can picture that one costing you your job or worse. You might have had to pay for that thing.

Remind me to keep you out of my engine/mechanical room. ;-)

 

I was "showing off" my boat to a friend. Running WOT for about an hour and I asked him to check the fuel in my pressure tank. He said we were "fine" and the tank was full of fuel. The tank was "bungied" down to keep it from moving around and he mistook it for being full......out of gas at dusk on a strange lake with no one around.......should have check it myself........priceless.