----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Tapley" <mtapley(a)swri.edu>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 2:58 PM
Subject: Re: OFF-TOPIC Re: Re[4]: You might be a VMS Bigot if.....
(I will admit the caveat that a fear of using
"vulgar" language, in the
*very rare* situations where it really is appropriate, is also not
necessarily healthy.)
The most "appropriate" situation I can think of was when I was building sets
for my high school's drama department with a friend of mine. We were
building an extention of the stage to go from the corner to a doorway
(built-in to the wall) about 4 feet off the ground... the supports for it
weren't there yet - we had to attach the platform to the stage first. My
friend and I were laying on the floor, using our feet to keep the platform
above us. When the person helping us hold up the platform shoved it over to
the appropriate place, I was to take all the weight of the platform while my
friend nailed it to death with the nailgun. The person helping to hold it
would then (very quickly) crawl under it and hold it up while I screwed the
other side in place. Well, when we counted to three, the person let go, I
took all the weight and my friend started nailing (keep in mind that this is
about a 300 lb platform -- it was quite large and we shouldn't have been
doing it the way we were ;) ) and the person meant to come help me didn't...
he jumped up on the stage and ran across it, obviously on some other
importand business. My friend realized what was happening, dropped the
nailgun and helped me with the weight while we screamed for the third person
to come back and do what he was supposed to... he came back, *walking*, and
*walked on top of the platform we were supporting*... he was a largeish
person, about 225-250lbs. My back hasn't been the same since.
- Mark
Kevin