17 March 2011

My Dad Would Call Them...

...cheaters.  Perhaps "pansies".

My dad worked for Washington State Department of Transportation when I was young child.  He was on the construction crews of the Duane Berentsen Bridge in Anacortes and has inspected/painted/maintained many of Skagit Counties bridges.

In fact, he wants this ashes thrown off all the bridges he's worked on.

Including this one:

So I laughed when MSNBC's photoblog posted this picture with the caption "Would you like to do this job?"

WADOT Bridge Inspectors

Back in the day, they didn't use bucket lifts to inspect but used climbing gear. He said, and this could be total bullsh*t, that they didn't wear helmets because too many people lost them in the wind & nearly fell trying to grab them.  (I know, right?)  He also said there were spotters for when big trucks rolled over so the guys could stop what they were doing and hug the girders SO THEY DIDN'T FALL from the vibrations.

I think that I will just stay here in my cozy office and not follow my father's footsteps, mmkay.

How about you?  Would you ever do this job?

1 comment:

creative kerfuffle said...

hell to the no. although i have been on high buildings and have never really thought i was afraid of heights, i have come to realize that i do have issues. going down escalators freaks me out, i'm pretty sure i couldn't do this job, even in the bucket.