Greensburg Kansas Part 3

Greensburg Kansas
Heading Out

Here's the rig we pulled to Greensburg. The church that put this trailer together is in Tekamah Nebraska with a total membership of 27. Amazingly this trailer was loaded to the gills with equipment. We had a generator to use along with many ladders, drills, crow bars, etc. Dale one of the guys I went with said that every time they take this trailer out to help with a disaster trip it comes back with more stuff in it.

High in the Sky

One of the things we had to wire was a light on each end of the attic with a junction box and a switch. Here I am up high standing on the ceiling rafters wiring in a light. Quite a bit of my phone company safety training came into play. Such as in this situation I almost with out knowing it will make a three point stance. The most stable stance is a three point stance. Two feet and one hand or two hands and a foot or in this case hip lean with two feet. Safety is always a given in these projects.

You got to love California Girls.

I don't have any pictures for this little story because I didn't think it would be appropriate for an old gray haired geezer taking pictures of 18 year old California girls. I have to tell you my perspective of California girls has drastically changed.

When the contractors built the house we were working on they laid in the sewer line to the house but didn't connect it to the sewer line for what ever reason. They also didn't put a cap over the pipe leading into the basement so when the 4 inch rain came it sucked about a foot and a half of mud into the basement. Soupy, mucky, stuff. You get the picture.

The second day we were wiring on the main floor a group came from California church to help. They had skills in cement, roofing, and general contracting work. Along with this group came kids from their youth group of I'd say 17 to 24. Half were girls and half were boys. They split up some went with roofing crew, some went with the cement crew and the rest were to clean the basement up. The only way to clean out the basement was to scoop up the mud with shovels and put it into 5 gallon buckets. Then set the buckets out the basement Egress window. Then someone from above would hook the bucket with a long rod with a hook on the end, haul it up the window well and dump the slimy sludge.

It was decided the girls would go to basement and the boys would do the hook and dump from outside. I'm listening to the planning as I'm working a junction box near the basement stairway knowing what's coming next. You have to understand these California girls came to the job site with dangly little ear rings, designer finger nails and nice looking clothes. They trudged down the stairs to have a look at the basement and with big gasp the words, "OH MY GOD" came out of their mouths. A few moments of silence then, "OK let's get busy". Never once did I hear a complaint or negative word all day.

At the end of the day those California girls came up out of the basement looking like they'd been in a mud wrestling match. They had mud head to toe. Mud in their hair and all over their faces. You couldn't tell what color their clothes were. They grabbed a hose and started hosing each other off.

Next day here they come again. They were put to work outside moving dirt around the foundation. While I was wiring a porch light out the back door, here I see one of the girls with her dangly little ear rings and designer finger nails running a Bobcat moving dirt up against the foundation.

So when it comes to prissy California girls with their dangly little ear rings, their designer finger nails, and their fancy looking clothes, don't let that fool you. They are tough, rugged, and aren't afraid to get dirty right along with anyone else.