When asked about what he's been doing the last nine months, Jake replied, "Man, this is a REALLY slow read!"
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Amazing!
When asked about what he's been doing the last nine months, Jake replied, "Man, this is a REALLY slow read!"
One more prank story
For those who need some visual stimulation, here is a picture we took in Giverny in May.
Despite the underwhelming response to previous prank stories, I have saved one of the best for the last.
Once again Capt Randy is the victim. Capt R had a pickup with a lumber rack that had a cracked weld. The bed was filled with pine needles. Engineer Don, a professional welder on his days off, was asked to reweld the joint. He was concerned about the proximity of the weld to the pine needles and asked Capt R to "Keep an eye on it"
It so happened that dinner that night included BBQ done on a charcoal Weber kettle BBQ. After the dinner was put on the table, the Usual Suspect (US) moved the BBQ to a spot behind
Capt R's pickup. He also replaced the nearest garden hose with one that was too short to reach. US then called home to have his wife call the station and say she lived in the apartment bldg behind the fire station, and that a pickup truck was on fire in our parking lot. Of course,
Capt R's seat at the table was closest to the phone. Meanwhile US snuck out and put some pine needles on the still hot BBQ.
Capt R answers the phone, turns beet red and runs out back, grabs the hose, turns it on, and runs toward his "smoking truck". The hose only makes it half way, and when he turns around he sees the crews watching with big smiles on their faces.
Despite the underwhelming response to previous prank stories, I have saved one of the best for the last.
Once again Capt Randy is the victim. Capt R had a pickup with a lumber rack that had a cracked weld. The bed was filled with pine needles. Engineer Don, a professional welder on his days off, was asked to reweld the joint. He was concerned about the proximity of the weld to the pine needles and asked Capt R to "Keep an eye on it"
It so happened that dinner that night included BBQ done on a charcoal Weber kettle BBQ. After the dinner was put on the table, the Usual Suspect (US) moved the BBQ to a spot behind
Capt R's pickup. He also replaced the nearest garden hose with one that was too short to reach. US then called home to have his wife call the station and say she lived in the apartment bldg behind the fire station, and that a pickup truck was on fire in our parking lot. Of course,
Capt R's seat at the table was closest to the phone. Meanwhile US snuck out and put some pine needles on the still hot BBQ.
Capt R answers the phone, turns beet red and runs out back, grabs the hose, turns it on, and runs toward his "smoking truck". The hose only makes it half way, and when he turns around he sees the crews watching with big smiles on their faces.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Yes, we take phone requests
This one goes out to Sheri.
I take this as proof that we can have peace in our time.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Pranking on the fly
At the beginning of an afternoon with lots of small jobs that needed to be done around the firehouse, rookie FF Dickie was assigned to replace the shutoff valve under the kitchen sink since it was leaking. A new valve had been purchased for this. The job entailed turning off the water to the station, replacing the valve, and turning the water back on.
The line from the valve to the faucet was a compression type where you tighten a nut which compresses a fitting (rubber in this case) against the pipe. As a background, it should be mentioned that we had higher than normal water pressure in the firehouse.
Having replaced the valve, Dickie went outside to turn the water back on. When he returned inside, the water line had separated from the valve and water was shooting everywhere. He ran outside and shut off the water. He came back in, mopped up ALL the water, hooked up the line again, turned the water back on, came back and the line had separated again.
Back outside, water off, mop up water, hook up line again. He had to do this all by himself because everyone else was busy with other things. When he explained to Capt Geoff what had happened, Geoff asked him for the old valve so he could use it on the next rookie.
So although everything that happened was legitimate, Dickie THINKS its a prank!
The line from the valve to the faucet was a compression type where you tighten a nut which compresses a fitting (rubber in this case) against the pipe. As a background, it should be mentioned that we had higher than normal water pressure in the firehouse.
Having replaced the valve, Dickie went outside to turn the water back on. When he returned inside, the water line had separated from the valve and water was shooting everywhere. He ran outside and shut off the water. He came back in, mopped up ALL the water, hooked up the line again, turned the water back on, came back and the line had separated again.
Back outside, water off, mop up water, hook up line again. He had to do this all by himself because everyone else was busy with other things. When he explained to Capt Geoff what had happened, Geoff asked him for the old valve so he could use it on the next rookie.
So although everything that happened was legitimate, Dickie THINKS its a prank!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Spontaneous pranks
I have an affection for spontaneous pranks. Taking daily happenings and turning them into something "special".
One day a bulldog mix dog ambled into our firehouse only to be met by Capt Randy who took an immediate liking to the friendly slobbering dog. The dog walked all around the firehouse investigating all the nooks and crannies.
At the same time devious minds were plotting. One group set out seeking an old dried bit of excrement to be painted so as to look fresh, and then placed on Randy's bunk. I thought it needed a bit more pizazz. I took a spray bottle and wet the corner of my own bunk. When the time was right I yelled some profanities about the damn dog. Randy thought it was REAL funny until someone pointed out his bunk.
One day a bulldog mix dog ambled into our firehouse only to be met by Capt Randy who took an immediate liking to the friendly slobbering dog. The dog walked all around the firehouse investigating all the nooks and crannies.
At the same time devious minds were plotting. One group set out seeking an old dried bit of excrement to be painted so as to look fresh, and then placed on Randy's bunk. I thought it needed a bit more pizazz. I took a spray bottle and wet the corner of my own bunk. When the time was right I yelled some profanities about the damn dog. Randy thought it was REAL funny until someone pointed out his bunk.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Feline fisticuffs and pranks part deux
Michaela has shown us some moves that are reminiscent of Ali. Her 3 or 4 lightning fast 1-2 combinations would have us dazzled if she didn't follow up with a Tyson like head chew. I don't know where she picks these things up.
Picking up our prank story...
Capt Randy, having dedeuced a probable suspect (PS), hatches a plan. PS gets wind of the plan. The next time PS is in the toilet stall, Capt Randy will dump a large pot of water over the top of the stall onto PS. PS steals Capt Randy's firefighting boots, puts them in front of the toilet, locks the door and crawls out. PS has a co conspirator inform Capt Randy than PS is in the stall. After the water has been dumped, and Capt R yells "Gotcha you B...........d!", PS comes up behind him and says "Watcha doin' Randy? Say...aren't those YOUR boots?"
Picking up our prank story...
Capt Randy, having dedeuced a probable suspect (PS), hatches a plan. PS gets wind of the plan. The next time PS is in the toilet stall, Capt Randy will dump a large pot of water over the top of the stall onto PS. PS steals Capt Randy's firefighting boots, puts them in front of the toilet, locks the door and crawls out. PS has a co conspirator inform Capt Randy than PS is in the stall. After the water has been dumped, and Capt R yells "Gotcha you B...........d!", PS comes up behind him and says "Watcha doin' Randy? Say...aren't those YOUR boots?"
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Pranks
We've left the time of cute kitten delirium and have entered the "Watch the lamp!" survival phase. One of the results of this is that my mind is somewhat clearer for non kitten posts.
By way of background, I am retired from a Fire dept. Some of my favorite memories revolve around pranks. Most of the best of those revolved around a Capt we'll call Randy. I only did a very few minor annoyances on Randy myself. We had several people, who if a living could be made perpetrating pranks, would have been millionaires. So many elaborate pranks were pulled on Randy that I would feel guilty just by association except that his reactions encouraged us and with his rank he could have brought it all to an end at any time.
Keeping in mind that there are only two jobs where you make money lying on your back, one of my favorites was a time when Randy had to take the morning off. I'm not sure whose idea it was for this prank. Randy's bunk was next to a wall with a door to a locker room. An IV line was run from underneath his mattress pad, to the wall, under the door (which had to be taken off to shave the corner to fit the tubing) and into the first locker. At 2 am the next morning, an IV bag (Saline?) was warmed in the microwave to about body temp and hooked up to the IV line. The bag was squeezed until it was empty. Then the line was slowly pulled out.
Randy (who had a new baby at home) awoke the next morning thinking that he (Randy) had wet the bed. He was unusually quiet that morning as he took the sheets off his bunk. He might have suffered longer had someone not audibly snickered.
He thought he knew who did it and vowed revenge,... but that is another story.
By way of background, I am retired from a Fire dept. Some of my favorite memories revolve around pranks. Most of the best of those revolved around a Capt we'll call Randy. I only did a very few minor annoyances on Randy myself. We had several people, who if a living could be made perpetrating pranks, would have been millionaires. So many elaborate pranks were pulled on Randy that I would feel guilty just by association except that his reactions encouraged us and with his rank he could have brought it all to an end at any time.
Keeping in mind that there are only two jobs where you make money lying on your back, one of my favorites was a time when Randy had to take the morning off. I'm not sure whose idea it was for this prank. Randy's bunk was next to a wall with a door to a locker room. An IV line was run from underneath his mattress pad, to the wall, under the door (which had to be taken off to shave the corner to fit the tubing) and into the first locker. At 2 am the next morning, an IV bag (Saline?) was warmed in the microwave to about body temp and hooked up to the IV line. The bag was squeezed until it was empty. Then the line was slowly pulled out.
Randy (who had a new baby at home) awoke the next morning thinking that he (Randy) had wet the bed. He was unusually quiet that morning as he took the sheets off his bunk. He might have suffered longer had someone not audibly snickered.
He thought he knew who did it and vowed revenge,... but that is another story.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
...and I admit I'm powerless over pictures of my new kitten
This is only one of about 12. I SWEAR this blog is not about cat pictures.
Monday, August 07, 2006
More cat pics
Due to the high percentage of requests for more cat pictures, we have a picture of our almost 20 yr old Michaela, not too happy about having a rambunctious kitten around. And a, just a little late, picture of her letting Lily know about her Feelings.
The percentage of requests was 100% gleened from another blog where I found out only "members" could leave comments and I am the only member. I have been called a member before, but it didn't sound like a compliment.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
