Ah, yes! The golden years of retirement. Well, the gold is disappearing quickly and is being replaced with Norco tablets for pain relief. But, here is a moment of honesty...I would not have changed my career for anything else.
As I mentioned earlier, I have COPD, and as part of my therapy for this insidious process of slowly dying from a lack of oxygen, I attend a program at the local hospital; Pulmonary Rehab. There are half a dozen or more in each class meeting, 3 times a week. We exercise with small weights or elastic bands, and we spend time on cardio-vascular exercise, such as treadmills, stationary bikes and the like. Part of the exercise is designed to help with balance and I had no idea that my balance was as bad as it really is. I believe it's called 'denial' as I already own 2 canes. Anyway, I started thinking about the projects I had been on where balance was critical. My balance saved me from injury or death many times. There was a time when I was welding exterior panel support clips onto the embeds on the edge of the slab. The slab, or slabs, were on a 22 story building. With a gloved hand I would hold the clip in position while my other hand held the 'stinger, or the welding rod. I was on my knees but I had to lean out and over the edge to be able to see where I was welding. Once the clip was where I wanted it, I had to shake my head in order to flip the welding hood down and over my face. Suddenly, everything is black. I can't see a thing. There is a brief moment where I had no sense of balance at all and in my mind I could see the ground, 240' feet below me. Then I struck an arc and a purple and gold light filled my vision as I began to weld. Thoroughly engaged in my work, I forgot all about where I was.
200' or 20' feet, working on high rise construction is always dangerous and only a fool doesn't believe that. But that was one of the things I loved about it. I never dwelled on it, but I never forgot it. It began on the very first job I had, as a first stage apprentice, and my journeyman extended a plank out the side of the building, on the 4th? floor, stood on the inside end of it and asked me to walk out on the plank and place a piece of lath where it was missing. "Don't worry, I won't step off of the plank." was what he told me. I had to do it. I was just an apprentice and had to do whatever my journeyman told me to do.
That question mark at the end of 4th floor? The incident happened over 55 years ago and my memory can't handle it...the building itself was just 9 stories in height so it could have been any one of them, except the first floor of course.
This story reminds me of another...but first, if you want to start at the beginning go here
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