Staking while laughing
Back in the 1970??s I was party chief of a two-man crew staking curb and gutter on a long straight stretch of road in North Denver. We marked out 25?? stations with stakes and then I proceeded to set 2? square hubs and tacks as the instrument man gave line. Eventually we stopped for lunch and the IM pestered me non-stop about letting him pound for a while. I guess we shared a distaste for standing behind an instrument all day.
I finally agreed reluctantly to let him take the double jack sledgehammer and took my place behind the T-16. He walked up the line to where we had ended which was several hundred feet from the gun. As I watched through the scope he set down the bucket full of hubs, set out a new can of Aervoe blue paint, got down on his knees, took out one hub and I lined him up. He tapped in the hub then rose to his feet and took a roundhouse swing at the hub, edging it and sending it skittering off about 20 feet. He walks over to get the hub and repeats the process. This time he edges the hub again but it only goes 10 feet as it ricochets off the paint can. He ambles on over to pick it up and start again.
I can see this is going to be a slow afternoon. As I watch through he scope he stands up the paint can, which looks to me to be pretty close to line and I guide him with arm signals to set the hub back on line. Again he rises to his feet and takes a might swing??.and disappears in a cloud of blue paint as he had directly struck the paint can. He was pretty well covered on his front side and in his beard. I put him back on the instrument after the paint dried and pounded hubs the rest of the day with tears in my eyes. Production was diminished as I just could not quit laughing.
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